


Bloody Saviors

by ani_babe93, erihan



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: And the Kamoshida/Ryuji, But that is imporant to the story and the reason for the warnings, Choking, Decided to take the Kamoshida/Ryuji tag off since it's one arc and not too terribly explicit, Everybody's extra like JFC, Genital Torture, Gore in chapter 7, Graphic depiction of torture, I put that tag just to be safe, It's so goddamn good, Light BDSM in chapter 11, M/M, More ships to be revealed later~, Multi, Mutual Pining, Past souyo mentioned, Pretty heavy mutilation honestly, Questionable Safety MeasuresTM, Semi-graphic depictions of suicide, So is the Souji/Yosuke, Suicide, The Ann/Shiho is implied, They like each other but won't admit it, This gets fucked up but trust me, This started out as a smut RP but I liked the plot too much to let it die, serial killer au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-30 02:55:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 32
Words: 237,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14487282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ani_babe93/pseuds/ani_babe93, https://archiveofourown.org/users/erihan/pseuds/erihan
Summary: When Akira is transferred after a run in with a politician, he is understandably upset. He had planned to lay low, not cause any trouble, and even take a break from his...hobby during his probation. But a chance run-in with an obviously abused and scared blond cutie has him changing his mind and throwing his plans in the trash.  Looks like Joker won't be taking that year-long hiatus after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this legitimately just started out as a smut RP with my friend that wasn't even originally supposed to go this direction. It was originally just supposed to be yandere!Akira but we never actually get through threads like we planned, but this one turned out really really good, and I just couldn't let it go. So I decided to turn the whole damn thing into a fic LMAO.

Akira honestly couldn't believe his luck. Shipped off somewhere for probation on trumped up charges pinned to him by some stupid drunk guy who got a little too handsy with a girl and a little too unstable with Akira. He'd barely moved the guy and he'd hit the concrete like bricks; Akira knew that the booze made him fall over. He had replayed the scene over and over in his head, trying to figure out when he could have-

The feeling of a body colliding with his snapped him out of this thoughts, and he realized that whoever he had bumped into had fallen. Immediately Akira squatted down to help them sit up slowly.

“Are you alright?” he asked, genuinely concerned for whoever he had knocked down. Their head nodded sharply before they pulled away from him and tried to stand on their own. Akira could tell something wasn't quite right with their leg just from the way they favored it.

“'m fine dude,” they answered, and Akira realized they were a he. Short, spiky bond hair and beautiful chocolate eyes that had Akira staring intently at them. After a few awkward seconds he snapped out of his reverie and smiled warmly as he stood.

“You sure? Your leg looks like it's bothering you,” he pointed out calmly. The blond just nodded and quickly dusted the front of his uniform off. He hoisted his bag a little higher onto his shoulder and took a step forward. He hissed and very nearly fell flat on his face again. With a scowl Akira moved underneath one of the guy's arms.

“Here. You need the help.” The blond grumbled to himself and tried to pull away.

“Seriously, I'm fi-”

“Let's go.” Something in Akira's voice made the guy stop fighting him and let himself be dragged along towards his classroom. Akira discovered he was a second year just like himself, but off in a different class from himself. When he dropped the blond off he gave a soft smile.

“I'm Kurusu Akira. I just transferred here,” he said. The blond nodded and smiled, obviously forced and wracked with fear and guilt.

“Ummm...Sakamoto Ryuji. Nice to meet you. Look thanks for bringing me to class man but you really didn't have to,” he said. Akira just laughed and shook his head.

“Of course I did. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into you. I think this was only fair,” he said. “So...wanna meet together for lunch?” Ryuji fidgeted and refused to make eye contact with him. It seemed he decided to look everywhere but at Akira before finally giving an answer.

“Yeah. Sure. I guess. Usually just eat together with my friend Ann, but we could definitely use the company! I'll be looking forward to it.” Ryuji smiled a little more, this one just as disingenuous as the last, and quickly ducked off into his classroom. Akira's smile calmly dropped as he turned to go to his classroom now.

His thoughts from earlier returned now. He found himself still trying to piece everything together and find an opening where he could have struck. Could have easily saved himself the trouble with probation and the very real possibility he could have been caught, exposed, and ended up in jail instead of this place. His fists balled, tension thrumming in every muscle of his body. A deep and seething rage boiled just under the skin and pushed at any opening it could find for it to burn brighter and hotter. Akira shouldn't have been sent away. He didn't actually do anything, besides try to be a good fucking person, and it got him here. Away from his hunting ground, his usual comfort spot, everything. He had a lot of work to do in preparation for the year he would be stuck here. He needed a new place to work, maybe some new-

“Yo dude, you'll never guess where I nailed Sakamoto at yesterday!” Akira mentally perked at the mention of the blond's name and ever so gently turned his head to hear the conversation better, pausing to lean against a wall in the hallway. Two boys had camped themselves in a corner, and their voices carried over to him easily. He pretended to be engrossed in whatever the window showed him as he listened intently.

“Where'd you get him this time? Storage closet or somethin'?” The first boy laughed and shook his head before leaning over to punch his friend in the shoulder playfully.

“Nah man! Got him here in the classroom just after school! Little slut was practically begging for it when I bent him over the teacher's desk,” he said. Akira could hear the triumph in his voice, as though fucking Ryuji was some sort of game to this school. “Had to clean up the mess himself and everything. Pretty sure he got off on it though.”

“Geeze, is there anything he won't do?”

“Nope. Pretty sure there's also not anyone he wouldn't do.”

Akira made a mental note of this. It had been a while since he had been able to scratch that particular itch of his, he realized, and decided that perhaps Ryuji would be a good opportunity to help him relax and settle in to this new environment. His ears picked up a few more conversations but none of them held his attention for very long. Just before classes started he could hear a few more discussing Ryuji and his promiscuous habits; Akira now felt certain Ryuji would gladly let him climb between his legs for a little bit

Another conversation also caught his interest; a few girls were settled in front of a classroom chatting together on their phones. He could hear them discussing Joker, a serial killer who had just started up in the last year and went after flashy targets. They were wondering if he was any good in bed, of all things. A strange line of conversation, he had to admit. But...an interesting one.

His first few classes had been boring as hell. The only excitement came when he introduced himself and a few of the girls in the front commented that he looked cute before another one asked in a slightly frightened whisper if he was the guy on probation for assaulting a politician. Somehow he managed to keep the smirk down when the rest of the class burst into whisper, obviously discussing whether this questionably mild-mannered boy could really have done something like that to another person. His teacher (Kawakami, he vaguely noted) had told them all to be quiet and stuck him in a seat behind a blond girl in pigtails. She had done little more than frown and huff at him before returning her attention back to Ms. Kawakami.

When lunch time rolled around Akira ducked out quietly and found Ryuji waiting for him with a huge grin on his face.

“Hey there! I was wondering if-” Akira quickly cut him off by gently setting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

“Maybe we could go somewhere private for lunch?” he asked innocently enough. Confusion flashed across Ryuji's face before turning into realization, then a touch of fear again.

“H-hey...dude, please no, my leg's bothering me. I can't fuck it up anymore, I-” Akira immediately picked up on the way his voice shook along with his body. He calmly moved his hand away and stuck it back in his pocket.

“Oh. Sorry. I forgot about your leg, actually,” he laughed. “Still wanna eat lunch together? I think I ended up behind your friend, and she gave me a death glare as soon as I sat down.” Ryuji's eyes glossed over for half a second before coming back into focus. He took a half step back in obvious surprise and shock.

“Wait, you're not gonna keep going?” he asked. Akira snorted and felt his brows furrow before he could stop them.

“Of course I won't keep going. You told me to stop. Does that happen to you a lot or something?” he asked. When Ryuji wouldn't look at him and instead focused his attention entirely on his shoes Akira suddenly felt rage well up in him. “...I'm guessing the rumors, then, weren't true? The ones about you being a slut?”

“I mean...kind of. I don't know why I told you to stop. Sorry, dude,” Ryuji said and shrugged gently. “If you want me to blow you or somethin' I can.” Akira stared at him for a long while, almost long enough to make Ryuji uncomfortable, before shaking his head gently.

“No. I'll be fine. Sorry to make you uncomfortable,” he said. Ryuji squinted his eyes a bit before humming and straightening his back.

“You remind me of my friend Go-chan,” he said. Talking about this person visibly relaxed Ryuji, pulling the tension from his body and bringing a smile to his lips. “You kind of make the same face he does sometimes. Like he's thinking about something really hard, or trying to figure something out.” Akira laughed at that and shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

“I hope that's a flattering comparison, otherwise I'll feel awkward about it,” he said. They both fell into quiet giggles at that, and Ryuji gently bumped his shoulder against Akira's. “So. Lunch?”

“Yeah. Lunch would be nice.”

 

Ann turned out to be far more agreeable than Akira first assumed. When she watched Ryuji hobble in with Akira and laughing she instantly relaxed and apologized for the way she acted with him. As it turned out she knew the rumors surrounding Ryuji all too well and had worried that Akira might try and take advantage of him because of them. When Akira had told her that he had no intention of taking advantage of Ryuji like that she visibly relaxed and explained the that the rumors had started after Ryuji's accident, when he'd been stuck in a wheelchair while his leg healed.

“Accident...?” Akira asked. Ann nodded somberly and leaned back in her seat.

“Yeah. He was in a storage closet one day cleaning up and a bunch of stuff fell on his leg. Busted it pretty badly,” she explained. “He ended up in the hospital for a while, and when he came back the rumors started. I'm not sure what started them but I sure as hell wish they would stop.” Akira absently picked at his food in thought and flicked his eyes over to Ryuji. They shined with a soft gloss, like he wasn't all there anymore, and Akira hummed to himself before looking back over to Ann.

“Well then why doesn't someone make the rumors stop? I mean, all Ryuji has to do is say something about it, right?” he asked. She shook her head and sighed quietly. Akira noticed she had a habit of chewing a spot on her bottom lip.

“Unfortunately no.” She glanced down at her phone quickly and squeaked softly. “Oh, lunch is almost over! Ryuji, you should head back before you get in trouble.” With a grunt he hauled himself up to his feet and quickly collected his things.

“Thanks for lunch, Ann.”

“No problem, Ryuji!” Akira watched Ryuji limp off, a nasty look on his face. Ann could easily tell that seeing Ryuji like that upset him, and she could just as easily sympathize with him. She knew somebody was abusing Ryuji. She just couldn't figure out who. Every person she tried to question told her the same thing; drop the line of questioning before something happened that she wouldn't like. But this was her friend, someone who she had known since middle school and saw as a younger brother. It was absolutely in her nature to worry about him.

At the end of the school day Akira waited at the gates to Shujin to ask Ryuji for an opportunity to hang out after school. When the blond finally wobbled down the steps Akira pushed himself off of the stone wall and waved at him

“Hey, Ryuji. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school today maybe?” he asked. The blond smiled at him and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could a heavy arm threw itself over his shoulder.

“Oi, Sakamoto! Coach said to remind you there's practice today after school,” a gruff voice said. Ryuji's smile turned from bright to upset in a split second.

“Oh. Sorry. Didn't know you were on the track team. I don't wanna keep you from practices,” Akira said. He took his school bag and readjusted the strap to a more comfortable position. “What about tomorrow?”

“...I'm really only ever free on weekends honestly. Sorry about that,” Ryuji admitted. “Ummmm...what about Saturday?” Akira hummed in thought before nodding.

“Yeah. I think that'll work. Meet up at the arcade?” he suggested. Ryuji's face brightened up again and Akira's heart thudded against his chest.

“Yeah, that sounds great! Looking forward to it, Aki-chan!” Ryuji turned and began walking off, and Akira's face scrunched up. Something in his gut told him that Ryuji was hiding something from him. The problem, he had to admit, was figuring out what exactly Ryuji was hiding. Someone was hurting Ryuji, and Akira felt this strange and impossible to ignore urge to protect him.

A twisted, feral smirk raised up on his lips. Joker had been quiet for the past few weeks. Perhaps it was time for him to make another appearance...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH HEY LOOK I even posted this on Goro Day LMAO. Not entirely sure that me getting to 5K on the chapters will be a consistent thing, but I really want it to be.

When Akira had returned to Leblanc after school, he had greeted Sojiro with a warm smile and a wave. He'd been asked to help out at the cafe (more like demanded actually) and figured it would provide a welcome distraction from his thoughts concerning Ryuji.

Worry was at the forefront, obviously. The rumors, while somewhat true, were obviously started without any real grounds to base them on. Someone had started them just to get at Ryuji and make his life a living hell. Akira could see marks on Ryuji's shoulders just under his collar, and his experience told him they were bite marks likely left during sex. His leg had been bothering him, meaning Ryuji had probably been pushed into some uncomfortable position that made his injury flare up uncomfortably. Whoever it was also put Ryuji down, making him seem like a burden and that he shouldn't get help from anyone if Ryuji's weak insistence that he didn't need help was anything to go by.

Because of him not paying attention, his finger caught the edge of one of the burners. His hand jerked back and he hissed, immediately squeezing the burn and then hissing again at the pain.

“You okay kid?” Sojiro asked, coming over to inspect Akira's hand. The younger nodded in answer and shook the burned appendage gently.

“Yeah, just a little burn. Not too bad,” he answered. When he finally looked down at his finger he noticed he'd only just grazed it. “Wasn't too hot, so I don't think it'll blister. Just look ugly for a day or two. Don't even really think I'll need to cover it up.” Sojiro just shrugged in answer and glanced down at his phone.

“It's getting pretty late. Should hurry and close up shop anyway so you can get some sleep. Don't need you getting poor grades at school and making me look bad,” he said. “I took care of the big stuff. You just need to sweep, clean, and lock up behind me. And don't forget to turn the sign around, either.” Akira nodded in understanding and quickly moved to get a broom so he could begin cleaning up.

As he swept he worked back through his earlier train of though regarding Ryuji. He realized that as a new student, he didn't have any of the same social standings and trust the other students had with each other. They likely wouldn't open up to him easily. Figuring anything out regarding Ryuji's abuser and tormentor would be a huge pain in the ass, but one Akira would absolutely bear with to save him.

Upstairs he finished what little unpacking he had left to do, fingers running gently over a plain black shoe box. Tape held the lid firmly on, and when his mother had half-heartedly asked him what was in it he had informed her that it held important pictures he didn't want damaged. While this was true, this particular box also held something else that Akira wouldn't have been able to leave behind.

A black leather jacket that fit Akira perfectly rest at the top, pushing up against the top of the box and leaving a slight dent. Underneath it were a gray vest with black criss-crossing lines and a black undershirt. Beneath them were black pants, and at the very bottom of the box were a pair of heeled boots and his mask. His knife, which at this point had seen him through no less than fourteen kills now, had been packed in a different box and waited for him under his bed. After making sure Joker's clothes were in order and hadn't been damaged he fetched his blade and calmly slid it underneath his pillow before climbing into bed to sleep.

The next day Akira intended to lay low and use his invisibility to his advantage to listen in on the other students to see what he could find out. What he didn't expect was to be pulled aside just before classes started by a shy, slender boy who refused to make eye contact with him and had a bandage stuck to his cheek.

“Ummmm...you asked about Ryuji yesterday. Right?” His voice was soft, demure. Just as submissive as Ryuji, Akira noted.

“I am. And you are...?” The boy fidgeted in front of him, hand rubbing up and down his arm slowly.

“...Mishima. Look, I can't really tell you anything, but I know more than Ann does. The accident that broke his leg wasn't...it wasn't actually an accident. I don't know who, but I know someone stacked the supplies wrong. There's no way they should have all fallen where they did.” Mishima took his left leg to nervously scratch at the back of his right leg while still staring down at the wooden floor.

“And why can't you tell me anything? Is someone intimidating you into keeping quiet? You know you can tell me. I can help,” Akira whispered. Mishima shook his head gently from side to side and swallowed thickly.

“No you can't. Look, I...I'm going to tell you now. Don't ask about Ryuji anymore. You'll make things worse for him, and I know that's not what you want. Right?” When Akira didn't answer Mishima continued. “Someone's hurting him. If you want to keep from hurting him more, don't ask about him.” For a brief moment he looked like he wanted to add something else to the conversation but decided against it and dashed off into the classroom to end it.

Akira stared after him with a slight scowl on his face and shoved his hands into his pockets. Mishima looked like someone had clocked him in the face pretty good, if that bandage on his cheek indicated anything. He looked and acted even more shy than Ryuji did, which lead Akira to believe that whoever was using Ryuji likely held the same control over this Mishima kid. Whether or not Mishima was subjected to the same torture he couldn't be sure. Something told him he would end up getting an answer soon enough.

 

When Ryuji was pulled into Kamoshida's office, he knew nothing good would come out of it. Kamoshida only called him into his office to yell at him or fuck him until his leg gave out. The fact that it was early in the morning and classes hadn't started yet did nothing to tell him which it would be, however.

“I saw that new kid help you to class yesterday morning. Didn't I tell you not to be a burden to other people?” Ryuji felt a bit of tension drain from his body and let himself relax. It seemed Kamoshida only wanted to yell at him.

“He didn't...really give me a chance, though. I tried to tell him no but he-” Kamoshida held a hand up to silence Ryuji. The blond shrunk down into himself slightly in fear.

“I will forgive you this time. But don't let it become a habit. Have I made myself clear?” Ryuji nodded slowly.

“Yes sir,” he whispered. Kamoshida calmly sat down in his chair behind his desk and waved Ryuji out of his office. He ducked out as quickly as his feet would take him and hurried off to his class. The slightly good mood from waking up and finding out his leg wouldn't bother him on the way to school had fallen away and left a nasty taste in his mouth. His phone vibrated in his pocket out of nowhere just as he hit the landing for his classroom. When he glanced down at the screen his face immediately lit up.

_Guess who's back in town, Ryuyu~_

_Go-chan! We gotta hang out while you're here._

_We could always go out to see a movie together. There's one playing that I've been dying to see but haven't had time for. Obviously later in the evening, as I know you have practice._

_Sorry about that. But I actually don't have practice tomorrow, so we can definitely meet then!_

_Good. We can meet up at the theater in Shibuya then. How does 8 sound?_

_Just fine by me! Can't wait to see you!_

Ryuji was grinning from ear to ear and even bouncing up and down in excitement as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. He hadn't seen Akechi since just before his accident last year. He's been too busy with his career, and-

Strong arms wrapped themselves around Ryuji's chest without warning, making him yell in surprise and jerk away on instinct.

“Hey Slutmoto~” Ryuji swallowed thickly and continued to squirm, trying much harder now to break away. He knew that voice; one of the track members that tended to be far too rough for Ryuji's liking had grabbed him from behind and now had him in a vice grip. Ryuji felt his face scrunch up in an obviously upset way as he turned to his captor.

“Let me go, asshole,” he huffed, bringing a foot down hard on where he thought the pervert's was. Unfortunately he misjudged the distance and instead slammed it straight into the wood flooring, causing him to wince and favor his other leg a bit more now. He heard a snarl a few inches from his ear and found himself forcibly turned to face the pervert and a hand firmly grasping his jaw to hold it steady.

“That face you made just now offended my dick. Get on your knees and apologize to it.” Ryuji found himself shoved down to the floor immediately, causing him to wince as he hit his knees painfully hard. For a brief second he felt worried that someone would catch them, but he remembered almost immediately that everyone at Shujin had grown accustomed to ignoring anything that happened to Ryuji. The hand on his jaw moved up to grab his hair hard enough to pull and loosen a few strands.

“You know, if you wanted someone to suck your dick you could have just asked.” Ryuji couldn't see with a face full of crotch, but breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Ann's voice down the hall. The hand in his hair yanked him and sent him sprawling onto his back. He watched the sleazeball saunter over to Ann and shove his hands in his pockets. Now he could see Shiho hiding back behind Ann with a tense look on her face.

“Well then, why don't we find a quiet place for just the two of us, hmm?” He reached up to tap one of Ann's pigtails gently and grinned. “Look, you've already got some handlebars for me to use.” Ann felt Shiho move past her to help Ryuji back to his feet and let her lips curl up. One dainty hand settled onto the track member's shoulder, and then her face scrunched up in disgust as she raised a knee up to slam the pervert in his balls. He hit the floor immediately, hands shooting between his legs and a yell ripping itself from his throat. Ann then brought a foot up to calmly shove him onto his back before she strolled over to Ryuji.

“You okay Ryuji?” she asked.

“Yeah, 'm fine. Knee's probably gonna be bothering me for a while though. Nothing too bad,” he answered, moving his leg around a bit to loosen it up. “Stupid pervert...”

“Sorry I didn't get here sooner,” Ann said and reached out to pat Ryuji's shoulder gently. He laughed and set his hand on hers to squeeze it comfortingly.

“Don't feel bad. It's fine. Still not enough to kill my good mood today though. I'm heading out to dinner with Go-chan tonight!” Ann smiled softly at that and squeezed the hand holding Ryuji's shoulder.

She didn't understand why Ryuji was so obsessed with Akechi Goro. She had to admit he was handsome, and his charming personality was enough to make most people swoon. When he made appearances on T.V it seemed everyone immediately gravitated to the screen to watch him. He moved with an almost unnatural grace that Ann wished she could emulate and carried himself with a proud air that suited him a little too well. Sometimes he almost seemed arrogant.

Shiho grabbed Ryuji's bag from the ground to hand back to him and smiled softly. He took it back from her with a quiet thanks and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I honestly don't know what you see in Akechi still. I know you said he's your friend, but...” Ryuji shrugged in answer and kicked at the floor beneath him.

“He was my friend when I was a kid. Back when I still lived with Dad. He and his mom used to...keep an eye on me from time to time. We'd play together all the time and I'd stay over there a lot. I've known him longer than you, Ann, even if there was a good chunk of time where we didn't talk. That's what I see in him.” Ann's eyes widened a bit at just how firm Ryuji's voice had become suddenly before softening into a more serene expression. A smile pulled itself up on her lips.

“Ah. Right. Yeah. Guess I wouldn't really understand that,” she said. “You're really the only friend I've got, other than Shiho. So...sorry if I upset you with what I said.” Ryuji held eye contact with her for a long while, long enough that Ann began to fidget and worry that she had genuinely upset her friend before he bust out laughing and bumped his shoulder against hers.

“Nah. You're fine. It's not a big deal.” Shiho smiled softly and brought her hand over to nudge against one of Ann's.

“We should probably hurry to class now, you two. We don't need to be late and upset our teachers,” she said. Ann nodded and laced two of her fingers with Shiho's to hold and squeeze, obviously more of a habit than a conscious movement. A very light blush dusted itself across Shiho's face, and she ducked her head down to try and fight it down.

“See you later, Ryuji. Actually try and pay attention in class, by the way,” Ann teased, narrowly avoiding a playful slap to the arm from Ryuji by moving back against Shiho's side. The two of them laughed as Ann walked off, shoulder brushing ever so gently against Shiho's as they walked. Ryuji let out a quiet sigh before he made his way off to class as well. The conversation with Ann about Akechi made him think back to his early childhood with a mixture of nostalgia and anger.

His father had been an abusive fuckwad, getting off on beating his wife and kid black and blue and drowning himself in enough alcohol to start a fire bright enough to burn the whole world. Surprisingly he never broke any of Ryuji's bones, but he did leave nasty welts and bruises in his wake when the alcohol hit him. His mother would always try and put herself between her husband and her son to protect him. This only ever pissed him off more and made him hit harder; one time Ryuji's mother came out of the exchange with a busted nose and a sprained wrist. That had been an awkward trip to the ER to make sure nothing had broken.

A few days before Ryuji's fourth birthday, the apartment next to theirs found new occupants in a quiet, soft-spoken woman and her son. They were about the same age, and both were painfully shy. When Ryuji's mom called him over to introduce him to their new neighbors he could see a child poking its head around its mother's legs nervously, watching him with one dim red eye. When his mother suggested the two of them play together, Ryuji immediately brightened up at the chance to make a new friend and have someone else to spend time with. The new kid's mother had reached down behind her and very carefully pushed her child towards Ryuji with kind words and gentle touches.

It took another month before the child (who Ryuji had learned was named Goro) to really start to open up. His mother explained that he had always been a shy child, and that she hoped maybe having someone closer to his age to spend time with would help him open up to other people a little bit easier. What she hadn't hoped for was that the trigger would be Ryuji showing up to one of their play dates with a black eye and a hand print on his upper arm.

It was like a switch had flipped; Akechi began asking for Ryuji to come over more and more and let himself relax more and more. It didn't take long after that for the two of them to become practically inseparable. Especially when Ryuji began spending more and more time with Akechi and his mother the worse his father became. After almost two years together the two eventually developed nicknames for each other; Ryuyu and Go-chan. Their mothers found the affection and closeness sweet, and something both boys obviously needed.

And then Akechi's mother committed suicide just after his eighth birthday. Ryuji barely had the chance to say goodbye before Akechi was shipped off to foster care. Ryuji didn't hear from Akechi for almost six years after that. When they finally got back in touch with each other-

“Sakamoto!” Ryuji jumped in his chair and jerked his head around in surprise. Two third-years stood in the doorway to his classroom, and his eyes dropped in understanding. He slid out of his chair and over to the pair, who immediately threw their arms over his shoulders and began to lead him off. They carried on an in-dept conversation with each other about after school plans as if they weren't planning on pulling Ryuji off into the bathroom and passing him between them for the remainder of lunch.

“Hmm? Ryuji?” His head immediately turned to see Akira standing in the door of his classroom, a questioning look on his face; “Do you need help?” it asks. Ryuji's heart jumped in his chest as he ducked away from the two boys and over to stand beside his new friend. He flashed a bright smile, and underneath it was a silent “Thank you.”

“Hey Aki-chan. Wasn't sure if you were gonna eat lunch by yourself or not, so I didn't wanna bother you,” he said. Akira shook his head and stuffed a hand down into his pocket.

“I was actually coming to get you and see if you wanted to eat lunch together,” he said.

“Yeah, sure. I can share my lunch with you too, if you want,” Ryuji offered. Akira's shoulders visibly relaxed at the offer and he laughed quietly. The hand not in his pocket came up to run a hand through his hair.

“That's actually nice, because I didn't bring one today,” he admitted. Out of the corner of his eye Akira could see the two third years that had planned on dragging Ryuji off somewhere for what he could only assume was something sexual, if the looks on the boys' faces were anything to go by.

Ryuji ducked his head off into the classroom behind Akira, presumably to say something to Ann. Akira took advantage of the distraction to look at the two third years. He quickly slipped his glasses off and glared at the two boys with murder in his eyes. Not hard, given his hobby; they took one look at him and quickly bolted off down the hallway before Akira could get his glasses back on his face. When Ryuji turned back to look in the hallway a confused noise slipped out from his throat.

“Where'd they go? I thought for sure I'd have to fight 'em to let me go...” Akira shrugged and patted Ryuji's back gently.

“I'm not sure. They just looked at each other and left. Guess they figured you were too busy to go with them,” he answered. “C'mon. I'm hungry, and you offered to feed me.” Ryuji snorted and playfully shoved Akira away.

“Is that the only reason you came to find me? Just to bum my lunch off me or somethin'?” Akira shook his head and snickered quietly as they stepped into the classroom.

“No. I legitimately just wanted to spend more time with you.” Ryuji side-eyed him, which made him laugh again and cover his mouth. “Okay so maybe that was _part_ of the reason why.”

 

The next morning Ryuji received a text from Akechi apologizing for not being able to make the movie, and his heart sank. He thought for sure Akechi would tell him that he was too busy to spend time with Ryuji while he was back. What surprised him was that Akechi suggested they try to meet earlier and instead of going out for a movie together they should grab dinner together. Ryuji immediately jumped on the chance, pointing out that he was just excited to spend more time together and that he didn't care what they did. Akechi sent him an address for a restaurant that he felt discreet enough for them, and suggested Ryuji not worry about dressing up for him. They were only going as friends, after all.

Ryuji, of course, didn't listen. After class he spent almost half an hour sifting through his closet; embarrassingly he realized that he didn't have much in the way of fancy clothes, and decided to head out to buy some new ones that would at least look a little better than his usual wardrobe. After settling on a nice black blazer with a white button up and nice slacks, he hurried home with excitement thrumming in his veins. Tonight he would be going out with his best friend, the one he hasn't seen in almost four months now because he's been so damn busy with work that it was a miracle his head was still on his shoulders.

The rest of the day was spent preparing and fighting down the butterflies in his stomach. He wasn't nervous because he had a crush on his longtime friend, no siree. He absolutely didn't find the way Akechi would smile at him breathtaking and enough to make his heart stop in his chest. No way in hell did he spend most of his time watching Akechi's lips move as he spoke, wondering just how they would feel pressed against his or the skin on his neck. He also hadn't spent more than a few nights picturing those soft and delicate hands working him a blissful orgasm instead of his own.

He calmly and quietly pushed those thoughts from his head and focused on making sure his hair behaved the way he wanted it to. He felt more than a little uncomfortable and out of his element, but if it meant he could look nice for Akechi then he would suck it up. He didn't want to be an embarrassment, after all.

In an attempt to take his mind off of Akechi and see if he needed to plan for rain tonight, he switched his TV on and flipped it over to check the weather.

“...today. In other news, the serial killer Crow appears to have struck again. Another head was discovered on the steps of the police station this morning, with their list of crimes left in an envelope beneath the head. Police are refusing to release the victim's names until an investigation into these claims has been validated.”

“Geeze, it feels like every time you turn around there's a new goddamn serial killer we gotta worry about. I remember when I was still livin' with Mom and Dad that everyone was freakin' out about the Reaper goin' after people...this is depressing as hell to hear about.” He kept the TV on just long enough to listen to the forecast (they weren't expecting any rain that night, thankfully) before he switched it off and finished getting ready to leave.

The entire walk to the restaurant he fought with himself on whether or not he should just go ahead and confess his crush to Akechi now if he should just let things simmer a little longer and tell him when things were less hectic. If they ever were...Ryuji knew his friend would probably be traveling even more once he graduated, and assumed the last thing on his mind would be romance. He almost stopped into a florist's shop and grabbed a bouquet to bring but decided against it. If he really was going to confess then it would be better to do it subtly. Akechi didn't like flashy things.

He found Akechi waiting for him in front of the restaurant and felt...overdressed. Ryuji had expected him to show up wearing what he always did for public appearances; instead he seemed to have decided tonight was a chance to relax, and instead wore a simple sweater vest with brown pants. He tried to duck off down a side alley and send a quick text to Akechi saying they wouldn't be able to meet he heard that sweet laugh and his heart melted.

“Ryuyu I told you, dressing up wasn't necessary,” he said. “You even slicked your hair down...” Ryuji laughed nervously and set a hand on the back of his neck. A blush threatened to bloom under his skin but he fought it down with ease.

“Well you asked me out to dinner, and I didn't wanna make things awkward, ya know? This place is fancy...didn't want them to treat us like crap 'cause of me, you know?” Akechi sputtered a laugh and set a hand on the side of his face. Ryuji briefly wished that hand would touch his own face like that.

“Ryuyu you're with me. I promise you have nothing to worry about. We won't have any problems while we're here,” he explained. “Now let's hurry inside. I missed lunch and all I've had to eat since breakfast has been a few pieces of candy.” Ryuji scowled at him and immediately walked over to smack his arm.

“Dude you're supposed to eat! Can't have you wasting away and leaving me alone! Do I need to start coming over to your apartment and feeding you myself?” Akechi snorted and the hand on his chin dropped down to slap at his side. The other one came up instead in a poor attempt to cover his face. This thankfully kept Akechi from seeing the blush on Ryuji's face.

“No, I don't think that's necessary. But thank you for the offer,” he said. His head jerked gently towards the door, motioning for Ryuji to go first. His nerves flared back to life again, and he felt himself begin to shake as he stepped inside. His fingers brushed against Akechi's and he swore a spark shot through his arm up to his heart, which thudded against his chest almost painfully. His voice caught in his throat, leaving Akechi to speak for the both of them and get them a table together.

The food, Ryuji found, was disgustingly expensive. He realized he didn't have enough cash on him to buy anything he really wanted, so he settled for splitting something with Akechi. When Akechi found out he insisted on paying for whatever Ryuji wanted, which lead to a five minute long argument about the cost before Ryuji conceded with a huff and still ordered one of the cheapest things on the menu. Still, Akechi considered it a victory.

“So Ryuyu. How are you doing in school?” When Ryuji didn't immediately answer, instead opting to duck his head and mumble something to himself, Akechi sighed and propped his head in his hand. “You were talking about coming over and feeding my yourself. Perhaps I should start coming to your apartment to help you study while I'm here?” Ryuji choked on the water he was drinking and coughed a few times. He still refused to make eye contact as well.

“No I don't...that ain't necessary. Promise. Track practice has just been really hard lately is all, 'nd I'm usually in a lot of pain when I get home. Makes it a bit hard to study, ya know? Mom would probably be just as worried as you are,” he said. “She'd probably be trying to talk me outta staying in track, too...” His voice slowly tapered off near the end. His eyes clouded over, pain bright and strong enough to bring tears with it. For a long while he simply stared at his hands, lost in thought and not entirely there obviously. When a hand brushed against his he jerked and snatched it away as though burned. After a moment the hand settled back on his to squeeze gently.

“Your mother would be proud of you. She'd be happy for you and how far you've come since we were children. You know that, right?” Akechi whispered. Ryuji nodded slowly, a smile spreading up on his face now.

“Yeah. She'd be happy for me. I've actually made some friends since junior high. In fact I made a new one this week,” he said and quickly fished his phone out of his pocket. Akechi leaned in closer to watch his screen.

“Really? I'm happy for you.”

“Yeah. He's a new kid that had to transfer over here. Something about a mishap with a politician or somethin', I dunno.” With his attention focused on his screen he didn't see the look Akechi gave him or the fear beginning to well up in his eyes. Perhaps...perhaps he was wrong. Maybe it was another person that Akechi wasn't aware of who just so happened to have had an unfortunate run-in with the wrong person. “Name's Kurusu Akira, but I just call him Aki-chan. He didn't even argue with me when I did it, either. We're headin' to the arcade tomorrow to hang out for a bit.” Ryuji's thumb tapped on a recent picture in his gallery, and Akechi's heart jumped into his throat before dropping into his feet.

Sitting next to Ryuji with an arm thrown over his shoulder and a gentle smile on his face was none other than the Kurusu fucking Akira.

The famed serial killer Joker.

Crow's sort-of rival.

And, as Crow, that made him Akechi's sort-of rival as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are finally starting to maybe possibly pick up now? Nothing too crazy happens this chapter, but just...be prepared for next chapter. <3

“Hey, Go-chan...you're squeezin' my shoulder pretty tight, you know.” Akechi found himself pulled back to the present and realized that he did indeed have a death grip on Ryuji's shoulder; he quickly released it and pulled away. “You okay? Somethin' wrong?”

“No, Ryuyu. Nothing is wrong. Just...a little worried, I suppose. That kid was arrested for assaulting a politician. Masayoshi Shido, to be specific. Surprisingly it was kept under wraps, and very likely thanks to Masayoshi's influence,” Akechi explained. “I just don't want him to hurt you, is all. He seems friendly enough from this picture, but...”

_I know all too well about hiding your real self from the public eye. Being two sides of the same coin doesn't hurt either._

“He's fine. He's actually helped me out a couple times already since he got here. In fact his first day there my leg was messin' up pretty bad and he helped me to class. Aki-chan said the whole thing was some kinda misunderstanding, but he's just a kid, so what can you do?” Ryuji said and pocketed his phone. He picked at his food, taking a couple of bites while Akechi obviously thought through whatever seemed to have his attention now. He had learned long ago that when the gears in his friend's head began turning, there wasn't much to be done to stop them.

Akechi's stomach had begun twisting as soon as Ryuji showed him the picture of Akira. He wasn't worried about Akira killing Ryuji, oh no. He was worried Ryuji would find out about their hobbies and turn them in to the police. They could avoid being arrested easy, but after that point all eyes would be on them, and when Crow and Joker went silent they'd be right back at square one. He already skirted danger by remaining friends with Ryuji; with Akira thrown into the mix Akechi would have to be even more careful.

He could always try and convince Akira to cut contact, he supposed. It wouldn't be hard, just a few well-placed threats and promises and he would fade off into the shadows. But Ryuji had already given him a nickname, and he'd already lost enough people he cared about. It wouldn't be fair for Akechi to step in and make things worse.

His stomach twisted suddenly and he quietly pushed his food away from him. Whatever face he made seemed to worry Ryuji, as he immediately leaned over into Akechi's line of sight.

“You okay Go-chan? You look like you're feeling a little sick,” he said. Akechi smiled a warm smile, one that he knew Ryuji wouldn't be able to see through, and quickly pulled his phone out. He feigned looking through his messages and sighed softly in mock agitation.

“Ah...I'm afraid something has come up. I need to leave earlier than anticipated. I'm sorry, Ryuyu,” he said. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood up quickly.

“But you haven't even touched any of your food! Can't you wait just a little longer? You're always so busy, we barely have time to hang out anymore,” Ryuji argued. Akechi smiled sadly, his head shaking from side to side.

“I'm afraid not, Ryuyu. I've been so busy as of late with the Joker and Crow cases, but I thought I could take a little bit of time to relax. Seems I don't even have that luxury. I'll keep in touch, I promise. And we'll find time to have a proper lunch together. Take your time and enjoy this, however. I'll cover everything.” He quickly slipped away, heart squeezing a little bit at the hurt look on Ryuji's face, and made sure to pay for their dinner and order dessert for Ryuji. How could he forget about his best friend's sweet tooth, after all?

On his trip home he fished his phone out and sends a message to Ryuji.

_While you're out with Kurusu tomorrow, will you please message me when you can? We barely had a chance to speak with each other tonight, and I'll be busy the rest of tonight. Please humor me?_

__

__

Yeah, sure, Go-chan! I don't think he'll mind. I'll be slow though. That okay?

_Of course. Just as long as we stay in touch. Let me know when you make it home tonight as well._

The tension bled from Akechi's shoulders at the promise, and he quickly stuck his phone back into his pocket. He had a body to dispose of, but he knew he could put it off for a day or two. He never liked to dump the body the day the head was found. Moving around was too difficult. People were always on edge, always eyeing anyone near them with intense amounts of fear and distrust. Carrying around too many bags at once would get him checked almost immediately, even with his reputation as the detective prince.

Just as Akechi stepped through the door to his apartment, Ryuji had finally left the restaurant and was now on his way back to his own home. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were trained to the ground as he walked. He had every intention of confessing that night but Akechi left before he felt the time was right. He couldn't bring himself to do it over the phone, either. This needed to be done in person.

He sent a quick 'I'm home' message to Akechi when he made it to his door and carefully pulled his shoes off once he was inside. He pulled his blazer off and tossed it off onto the back of a chair before throwing his short over onto his couch. Next came his pants, chucked off somewhere into his bedroom before he ducked into his bathroom to take a hot shower.

While waiting for the shower to heat up he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in thought. He felt a weight settle in his chest as painful, dark thoughts pushed their way in to his head. Thoughts like the real reason Akechi left so early was because if anyone saw them together there would be rumors about the two of them dating, and that would ruin Akechi's reputation. That he was nothing more than a fucking burden, and that they were only still friends because Akechi pitied him.

Kamoshida's warning from yesterday flashed back to him suddenly; Haven't I told you not to make yourself a burden? It felt like the words had been tattooed under his flesh and burned brighter whenever he let himself believe even for a moment that people genuinely cared for and about him. During his dinner with Akechi, even as brief as it had been, Ryuji still forgot for just a little while about it. About everything in his life that seemed to be falling apart and kicking him while he was down.

Honestly? What he wouldn't give to have his mother's advice right now.

The steam from his shower finally kicked him out of his thoughts; he reached into the shower to turn the cold water on and bring the temperature down to much more manageable heat before stepping in and letting the water wash over his skin and muscles. The gel he'd used to slick his hair down felt awful against his fingers as he set to washing it out.

The heat kept any more thoughts regarding Kamoshida from butting in, and instead let him turn his attention to Akira, for whatever reason. The new transfer student at Shujin who latched onto him with startling ease as a friend. Ryuji had hoped that maybe they could be friends, since he wouldn't have heard the rumors about how easy Ryuji was, and when Akira had grabbed his shoulder and whispered about wanting a private place to eat together his heart had dropped. For the first time in a long time he had put up a fight, and to his surprise Akira had actually backed off and apologized. It gave him real, genuine hope that maybe the two of them really could become friends like he wanted. Like he honestly needed.

With his hair clean and dirt scrubbed off of his skin he hopped out of the shower and quickly dried himself off so he could get some much needed sleep. Once he had crawled underneath his comforter he took a deep, calming breath and let himself fall into a fitful sleep. It had been far too long since he had been able to sleep the whole night away without a nightmare of some sorts, and just once he would like to avoid screaming himself awake.

The next day all he could focus on was meeting up with Akira at the arcade to blow off some steam. The last week had been hell for Ryuji. Between Kamoshida wrecking his leg a few days before and Akechi leaving suddenly the night before, he just wanted to forget about everything and focus on relaxing for a little bit. Even if almost every muscle un his body seemed to be perpetually tense, prepared for anyone to grab him at any point and haul him off somewhere to-

“Hey. Ryuji. You okay?” Akira's hand waved in front of Ryuji's face, startling him out of his thoughts and making him laugh nervously. “Dude you okay? You looked like you weren't all there just now.”

“Uhhh...yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry. Just thinkin' about some stuff. Nothing too bad. C'mon, we came here to dick around and play some games. Anythin' in particular you were looking to play?” Akira hummed in thought and took a glance around, his eyes eventually settling on a rail shooter tucked in the far back.

“That one,” he said, jerking his chin towards the cabinet and weaving his way through the crowd. His hand reached down to gently take Ryuji's hand and lead him along. Akira gave a few very gentle presses here and there to clear the way, relaxing once they had finally pushed through and found themselves with enough space to breathe. Ryuji finally looked up to see what game he had been dragged over to play and laughed to himself.

“Didn't peg you as the type to play these kind of games, honestly,” he admitted. “Buuuuut I guess you can't judge a book by its cover.” Akira chuckled softly at that, the following smile reaching his eyes and making him appear even warmer than Ryuji already saw him. A hand slipped into his pocket to produce a handful of arcade tokens for them to use.

“My arcade back home didn't really have much else that caught my eye, honestly,” he said. “You okay with this?”

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji pumped his fist in excitement, bringing his hands down to rub together in anticipation afterwards. “I'm good at this game. Prepare to get your ass handed to you, Aki-chan!”

There it was. That nickname again. The one Akira should honestly argue against Ryuji using with him, but something in Akira just wouldn't let him. Ryuji was overly friendly, almost to an uncomfortable amount, but given Akira's past and lack of real friends in his hometown, he figured he could let it slide for now. Besides, he couldn't find any harm in letting the nickname slide. At the same time, though, Akira figured he could level the playing field, so to speak.

“I wouldn't bet on it, Ryuryu.” Akira watched the color bloom into Ryuji's face, and something in his chest flipped. When Ryuji dropped his head down to stare at his feet Akira smiled brighter and slapped his back. “C'mon. We came here to play games, not get embarrassed.”

“R-right. Yeah.”

Ryuji watched Akira move and aim with terrifying accuracy and ease. After a few shots he pulled his glasses off and stuck them into his pocket without taking his eyes away from the game in front of him, and Ryuji's eyebrow raised up in surprise.

“Do you not actually need glasses?” he asked. Akira shrugged in answer before flicking his wrist and getting yet another headshot on a monster in the back.

“Kind of? I mostly need them to see the board and stuff. Up-close like this isn't a problem for me. The glare's bothering me though, making it a little harder to see the screen and stuff. I normally don't miss shots,” he answered. Ryuji paused as he was about to take a shot to stare at Akira in shock and awe.

“Dude you've only missed like three friggin' shots! Even I ain't that good!” Akira just smiled at him and shrugged again in answer.

“I told you. My arcade back home didn't have much else to play. Watch your left side.” Ryuji's head whipped back to find a monster crawling towards him that he very nearly missed, and only just managed to pick off before taking damage. After a few more minutes of playful banter with a few jabs thrown in there they cleared the final boss and Ryuji finally got to see just how well Akira really did.

“Dude! How the hell-”

“Hey, Sakamoto.” A heavy arm landed on Ryuji's shoulders, something he had become dangerously accustomed to, and pulled him close to someone's chest. “Who's your new 'boyfriend?'” Akira's arms crossed in front of his chest, and a venomous glare darkened his eyes.

“He's not my boyfriend. We're just friends hanging out at the arcade today,” he argued. This seemed to be the wrong answer (or the right one, depending on who you asked) because the stranger's grin widened and he jerked Ryuji a bit harder to his chest.

“Great! Then Ryuji won't mind ditching you and coming to hang out with us,” he said, head jerking back behind him. Akira's eyes flicked up to see three more guys eyeing the back of Ryuji's head with obvious want. “We'll make sure to love you lots~” Akira glanced over to Ryuji, expecting him to have some smartass comment, and instead found Ryuji looking...hopeful? Excited? His eyes flicked between Akira and the student holding him, like he was seriously debating actually leaving with these guys and letting them...

“Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but he's spending the day with me. Not you.” Akira's voice voice carried finality with it, daring anyone to argue with him and try to change his or Ryuji's mind. His hands slipped into his pocket and his hip cocked out. Even with the slightly more lax posture he still looked ready to strike if anything went a direction he didn't like. Akira watched Ryuji think for a few moments before pulling away with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry. I did promise him I'd hang out with him today,” he said. With his back turned to Akira, he couldn't see when Akira's face shifted from it's normal serene expression into one that promised a long, painful, agonizing death if the guy bothering them didn't kindly fuck off somewhere else. To further drive his point home, Akira slipped the knife in his pocket out just enough to make sure the light flashed off the blade. When the guy's breath hitched and he took a small step back, Akira pushed the knife back down into his pocket and smiled.

“...Yeah. Right. Okay. Sorry to bother you. Uhhhh...maybe some other time then.” Before Ryuji could say anything the guy scrambled off, real fear in his eyes. Ryuji then turned to Akira, who had a concerned look about him now.

“What was with that guy? He acted like he knew you,” he said. Ryuji turned his attention down towards the ground again and refused to make eye contact. Before he had done it out of embarrassment, and Akira had found it charming; now he was doing it to avoid giving a proper answer, and Akira felt anger well up in his chest.

“Just some guy from school. Nothing you need to worry about,” he said firmly. Akira almost had to strain to hear him speak. He cleared his throat to get Ryuji's attention and waited until he looked up from the floor before speaking again.

“What did he mean by 'love you lots?'” A blush rose on Ryuji's face, and instead of staring down at his feet he turned his attention off to stare at a group of girls who had wandered in.

“Just an inside joke?” he supplied, hoping that Akira would believe him but knowing somewhere deep inside him that more than likely wouldn't. The look on his face gave Ryuji the answer, and instead of feeling dread seep in he couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips. “You're making the same face that Go-chan does sometimes.” This obviously caught Akira off guard, as he made a slightly confused sound and tilted his head to the side.

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?” Ryuji reached down into his pocket to pull his phone out and scroll through his gallery.

“Go-chan makes the same face when he asks me about something serious,” he explained. “It's honestly kind of intimidating sometimes.” Akira's head shifted to the other side, his face now beginning to reflect his confusion.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked. Ryuji just shrugged and scrolled back up to the top of his gallery, obviously not finding the picture he wanted and deciding to do a more thorough search.

“It's almost like you two can see through me,” he said, and the confused expression melted into a warm smile.

Akira absolutely could see through Ryuji, no questions asked. The poor kid was like an open book to him, the words written in neat and precise strokes to spill whatever secret he tried to keep. Every subtle shift in Ryuji's posture, every twitch in his face told Akira everything he needed to know and then some.

He watched Ryuji's lips move without completely hearing him, and his head shook from side to side quickly to pull him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I said it's a bit creepy sometimes how well you two can do that. I guess maybe it's your eyes?” Ryuji said. Akira snorted at that and shook his head.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“When you asked me that, they just...shined. Not really sure how to describe it,” he said. He found the picture he had been searching for and held his phone out to Akira to see. “You can't see it here, but I guess showing you who he is might help make a little more sense.”

And when Akira saw just who had their arm around Ryuji's shoulder, his stomach dropped. Of course. Of fucking course. Just his goddamn luck that Akechi fucking Goro would be best friends with Ryuji. Akechi and Akira always seemed to be connected in some way, form, or fashion, be it running into each other as Joker and Crow or going after at least semi-related targets within a few days of each other. He figured it would only be a matter of time before a more concrete thread developed between the two of them. He just...hadn't expected that thread to be a bubbly energetic blond who reminded him of a puppy eager for its master's affection.

The phone in his hand vibrated suddenly, and a message bar popped down.

_Goro  
How is Kurusu behaving? ___

____

__

“Oh. That must be Go-chan,” Ryuji said and quickly took his phone back to type out a reply. “I told him we'd be hangin' out today, and he wanted me to text him and let him know what's going on.” Akira laughed and shifted over to his other hip.

“What, doesn't trust me or something? We haven't even met yet,” he teased. Ryuji snorted and dropped the hand with his phone in it down to his side.

“Don't take it personally, Aki-chan. Go-chan just worries about me. You're new after all.” Akira shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

“I understand. But he's pretty famous. How exactly did you two meet anyway?”

“He lived near me and my mom when I was younger. I used to go over to his apartment and hi-uuuuuuuhhhhh...play with him.”

Akira didn't miss the way Ryuji hesitated, or the fact that he very nearly said 'hide' instead of 'play.' Akira very nearly spoke up about it and corrected Ryuji, but figured the answer to his question would be a sore spot and decided to drop it in lieu of continuing his line of questioning regarding Akechi.

“That's actually really convnenient. That you're still friends with him even after all this time. I would have thought that the fame would have gotten to him,” he pointed out. Ryuji shook his head at that and scratched at his head.

“He's my best friend. Sure, we stopped talking for a few years, but that doesn't change anything,” he said. Akira smiled a little bit at hearing this; Ryuji needed all the friends he could get in light of everything that had happened to him. But something in the back of Akira's mind pulled a very, very good question to the forefront of his mind.

Just how much exactly did Ryuji know? Was he aware of what Akechi did as Crow, or did Akechi keep him completely in the dark? Akira could ask in his own subtle, roundabout way to find out from Ryuji. Or he could ask Akechi himself, when he went to go dump the body from his most recent murder off. That would likely be the easiest solution. Safest, as well, since it would nullify the risk of Ryuji finding anything out.

“I'm glad to hear that,” he said. His habit of getting lost in his thoughts was going to shoot him in the foot one day, he could just feel it. “But why did you lose touch with him for so long?” Ryuji made a sound and waved his free hand around. His phone vibrated again, and he brought it up to his face as he answered.

“Dunno. I asked but Go-chan didn't tell me. Said it was a private thing but maybe one day he'd tell me,” he explained. “Only really get the chance to see him about once a month, honestly, so we don't get to talk very much. Plus...I'm bad for his reputation anyway.”

“Huh? Why do you think that?” Akira asked, taking a glance down at his phone when he felt a vibration. He kept his expression schooled as he realized who had sent him a text, then made a mental note to remember to answer it later and turned his attention back to Ryuji. He snorted in answer to Akira's question and rolled his eyes.

“I don't think I really need to say anything besides how bad the headlines would be if someone saw a blond punk hanging out with the great detective prince, ya know? People might wonder just what kinda person he really is. They already dig into his private life enough as it is. Poor guy can't even take a piss in private.” Akira snorted at that, devolving into a giggle and making him cover his mouth to hide it. “You think I'm kiddin'. He's had people try 'nd follow him off into the restroom before. Was awkward as hell.” Akira's laughter died and the look on his face begged Ryuji to be making it up. When Ryuji didn't call sike his eyes widened in genuine surprise and his hand dropped.

“Dude that's uncomfortable and awkward as hell.” His phone vibrated again, a gentle prodding to fucking answer before something happened, and he sighed softly. “I hate to cut this short right now, but I need to hurry back home. Pretty sure Sojiro wants me to help out at the cafe again. That was actually him that messaged me a few minutes ago.”

“'s fine dude. I need to get home anyway. Guess I should give you my number though?” Akira held his hand out for Ryuji's phone and sent himself a text before going into the contacts and adding his name in as 'Aki-chan.' When he handed Ryuji's phone back to him he reached out for Akira's in return and was met with Akira shaking his head. “Huh?”

“Got some private things I don't need other people seeing. Nothing against you, Ryuryu. I didn't even let my parents see my phone when they asked. You understand, right?”

“Yeah. Guess you got a point there. See you later, Aki-chan!” Ryuji darted off outside of the arcade, a bright and cheerful smile on his face, and Akira's heart melted at his enthusiasm. After his heart stopped its incessant fluttering he stepped out of the arcade and glanced down to check his phone. As it turned out he hadn't been lying completely; Sojiro did message him and ask him where he was. He sent a quick answer before scrolling up to check the first message he received in the arcade.

_Sleeping Beauty  
You've been quiet for a while. Are you alright? I'm beginning to worry about you._

Akira sighed and quickly glanced up at the sky, which had already begun to shift from a warm afternoon glow to the cold dark of night, before sending a reply.

_I'm just fine, Senpai. But boy, do I have a story to tell you. Are you sitting down? I would be sitting down for this._

 

Akira braced himself as the subway slid to a stop, his left hand in his pocket waiting for an answer and his right gripping onto a poll to keep him steady. He knew he would have to hoof it back home more than likely, and that Sojiro would probably rip him a new one for being out so late, but the conversation he would be having with Akechi took top priority at that moment. He had a key to Leblanc already, so the worry was far at the back of his mind.

As he stepped out onto the platform his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and opened his messages back up again.

_So the charges were trumped up? No wonder you've been quiet. Sorry to hear that. Glad to hear that you're taking it in stride, though._

__

__

_Don't really have much of a choice, honestly. Thankfully I'll only be stuck here for a year. Also sorry but my responses will be slow, I'm going to talk to Crow about something._

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and ignored the rapid fire messages as he made his way off towards the spot where he knew Akechi would be dumping his latest victim's body off. He prided himself on just how well he knew Akechi's behavior as Crow by now, how quickly and easily he could plan his movements around the other and avoid conflict. One time they had both killed on the same night, and the next day media coverage for both kills had been confusing and frustrating to watch. It took almost three days before the stories were completely straight, and even then they had both noticed discrepancies in the reports that made their blood boil.

He heard Akechi before he actually got close enough to see the boy, but before he could open his mouth to speak he found a gun pressed to his forehead and red eyes glaring at him. Once Akechi actually processed who had followed him his arm dropped and he let out a heavy sigh.

“You should be more careful, Kurusu. I could have shot you,” he said calmly. Akira clicked his tongue and watched Akechi tuck the pistol away,his eyes taking in every minute detail about Akechi before stopping to stare near his feet for a moment.

“I don't really think you would have. You would have had to explain the dead body at your feet, and well...I don't have blood on the hem of my coat,” Akira returned. Akechi's eyes widened before he looked down to inspect himself. Just as Akira had said, a small patch of dried crimson stained the detective's favorite coat at the bottom near the buttons. He growled to himself in frustration and huffed.

“Sonofabitch. Now I'll have to get this dry cleaned,” he muttered to himself, twisting down to check and see just how bad the stain would be. If he were lucky it might come out and he wouldn't t have to replace his favorite coat.

“Be more careful next time you're hauling a body around. But I actually have a purpose here, and I'm not just being a creeper this time. I wanna ask you a question,” Akira said, hands going back into his pockets. Despite the fact that he's standing in front of Akechi, who wouldn't be above killing Akira to make a statement as Crow, his posture remained relaxed. The only indication he would put up a fight if the two of them came to blows was the grip Akira obviously had on his knife in his right pocket. Akechi watched the muscles in his arms flex a few times before his eyes flicked up to Akira's face instead.

“Good. I have a question for you as well. What are your intentions with Ryuyu?” he asked, straightening up to his full height and smirking a little bit as he realized he actually had a couple of inches on Akira. A small victory, but one Akechi would gladly take.

Instead of answering him Akira reached up to take a stray piece of Akechi's hair and move it back into place, fingers lingering a little too long on the curve of Akechi's cheek before returning to his pockets.

“I said I wanted to ask you a question first. Answer mine and I'll answer yours.” Akechi eyed the other boy with caution for a long while before flicking his eyes off to the side.

“Fine. What do you want to ask me?” Akira grinned, teeth flashing and a wild light flaring up in his eyes. The hard part was out of the way now. All he needed to do was keep Akechi's attention.

“Do you know exactly what happened to Ryuji's leg? I've been told it was an accident, but I'm not sure I believe it. Not after what one of the other students said to me,” he said. Akechi's eyes moved back to Akira's face and his arms crossed in front of him.

“The report said that some supplies from the closet fell down onto his leg. When he was found nearly two hours had passed, as nobody knew he was supposed to be in the closet. So it basically crippled him. As you've seen he can still move around, but his mobility is severely limited, and his leg bothers him from time to time, especially in the winter,” Akechi explained. Akira's head bobbed in thought for a moment before he straightened up to his full height.

“I'm guessing since I wasn't given a name you don't know who hurt him,” Akira said. Neither of them needed an explanation; it was obvious someone had intentionally busted Ryuji's leg and crippled him. The supplies mysteriously falling only onto him and nobody knowing he was supposed to be in the supply closet told them that.

“Of course. I only strike with absolute certainty. I would never forgive myself if I killed an innocent,” Akechi said. Akira heard his phone buzz in his pocket and quickly reached down to silence it. He would deal with the backlash from whoever texted him later. “Now. I answered your question, so please answer mine.”

“Fair enough. He's...a friend. Someone who needs to be protected and saved. And you and I seem to be the only ones with enough balls to do it. So I propose a game, Akechi. Are you interested?” Akechi's arms uncrossed only to surge forward and grab Akira by the front of his shirt.

“I won't have you revealing...this...to my best friend, if that's what you're implying. Remember, I can have you thrown in jail and prosecuted for every murder you have committed faster than you can say my name,” he warned. Akira remained calm, slowly bringing a hand up to uncurl Akechi's fingers from his shirt.

“You have nothing to worry about. I'm a serial killer, not an idiot. He won't know anything, I promise,” he said. Akechi visibly relaxed at this and stepped back, hands smoothing over his coat to fix the wrinkles in it.

“Good. My apologies for reacting so harshly, but my friend's safety and well-being is of utmost concern to me. He won't say anything to me, but I feel someone is hurting the poor boy,” Akechi said.

“Oh. Yeah. Absolutely. Some guy practically tried to crawl on top of him while we were at the arcade today, and I found out it wasn't the first time it happened either; someone started rumors about him being a slut.” Akira said. Akechi's face twisted in rage and disgust at hearing this from him.

“Dammit...people like him are what changed Ryuyu,” he spat. Akira made a questioning sound in the back of his throat at that. “Ah, right. You didn't know him before the accident. He used to be so...happy. Energetic. A bright ball of sunshine, I suppose, would be the best way to describe him. He was wonderfully affectionate and perhaps even sometimes a bit over-friendly.” In his chest Akira's heart squeezed; hearing this, and seeing the way Ryuji behaved and acted now, helped to cement just how much the abuse had affected him.

“Completely different from how he acts right now...but perhaps we can fix that?” There's a sparkle in Akira's eye, like he's planning something sinister and begging Akechi to agree. And ever the curious soul, he does so with curiosity in his voice.

“I assume this 'game' you mentioned has something to do with this? I hope you understand, but I don't play unless I know the rules,” he said. Akira laughed at that and shook his head softly.

“I wouldn't expect any less of the great Akechi Goro. The rules are simple; I propose a race. To see who can figure out who was the one to break Ryuji's leg and hurt him. Whoever finds out, gets to kill them. Easy as that,” he said. Akechi hummed in thought at this. 

“This hardly seems fair. You have a home field advantage, so to speak. You see Ryuyu every day, you're in the school every day. All I have to work on are notes from the official report and what little you've told me,” he pointed out. In response Akira clicked his tongue and groaned in frustration at this. “But. I have a solution. Since we both have access to resources the other doesn't, I propose we meet up at the end of each week to compare notes, provide the other with information, and see what we can figure out together.”

“You're suggesting we meet up and discuss this in public? That seems a bit dangerous, you know. Especially since you being seen with a delinquent won't be good for your reputation.” Instead of offering a proper answer Akechi shrugged. Akira's fears weren't warranted, but they could be worked around easily enough.

“All we have to do is disguise ourselves. I don't believe this will be hard for you, since nobody really knows you here. I, however, will have to take more drastic measures to keep from being recognized.” Confusion crossed Akira's face for a brief moment before recognition pushed forth, and then an odd sort of excitement took its place. His breath hitched in the back of his throat.

“Are you suggesting...you'll cross-dress? I could be wrong, of course, but that's what I'm getting out of this,” he said. He kept his voice low but hopeful. A part of him thought that perhaps he had read too far into Akechi's words and that a deep fantasy of his might be pushing the idea forward, but when Akechi smiled at him and fluttered those pretty brown eyelashes he knew he had his answer.

“That is exactly what I am implying, A~ki~chan.” Each syllable of his name came punctuated with the tap of a finger against his nose. “Ryuyu does call me Go-chan after all.” The pleasant surprise gave way to obvious agitation in Akira's face.

“Don't call me Aki-chan. Only he gets to call me that,” Akira said. Akechi's soft smile turned into a devilish smirk at the admission.

“I knew that's what he would call you,” he said. Akira just shook his head and calmly pushed Akechi back away from him.

“Shut it. We should hurry, we don't need someone coming along and seeing you dumping off your dirty laundry you know,” he said. He then pulled his hand out of his pocket to hold out to Akechi with a wicked, twisted grin on his face. “To seal the deal for our little game, of course. Right, _Crow_?” Akechi chuckled darkly and clapped his hand into Akira's to shake it.

“Of course, _Joker.”_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, you did not read the tags wrong. Yes, this happened. As I told my friend I was talking to about this one day during Weiss: When you run into someone who you find out is perfectly okay with murder, and you're a hormonal teenage boy, sometimes these things just fuckin' happen. But fear not! AkiRyu is still end-game. Also, there's a lovely foot note that got tossed in, that my wonderful co-author had the idea of adding, that I highly recommend you check out!

If Akira were completely honest to himself, he wasn't sure how to go about actually getting any information on what happened to Ryuji. The other students at the school seemed...hesitant to acknowledge anything going wrong. If they weren't involved, it wasn't their problem. It wasn't hard for people to turn a blind eye to others obviously in need of help to avoid getting caught on the crossfire and save a bit of face. He had...an idea, of what he could do, but he would prefer that be a last-ditch effort, given how much trouble he could get into for it.

That had been his intention. Really, it had. But Ryuji hadn't been there to greet him at the gates that morning, which had been his first red flag; the second had been when he caught sight of Ryuji limping into class with a pained expression on his face and a hand on his left leg. The final straw came when Ann suddenly darted out of class without warning and the teacher didn't bat an eyelash. Akira followed quickly behind her, ignoring the nasty look he was given, and found Ann cradling Ryuji in a far corner of the hall.

His entire body shook and tears blossomed at the edge of his lashes. He had a death grip on Ann's arm and forced himself to hold back his sobs. He squirmed against her uncomfortably, and his hips jerked forward every few seconds. Like there was something pushing him towards sensory overload.

“...Ann...what's going on?” Akira asked quietly. Ann jumped in surprise when he spoke before quickly turning her eyes back down to Ryuji. Her hand began to run softly through his hair as she spoke.

“I don't want to say. I hope you understand,” she whispered. “Just know that it's someone who's hurting Ryuji. Don't worry. Once he relaxes a bit he'll cry until he passes out, and then I'll take him to the nurse's office.”

Akira's fists bubbled up at his side, and a strong wave of nauseating rage washed over him. When Ryuji couldn't fight back a choked sob and gave a full-body twitch he saw red for a moment. Ann's attempt at reassuring Akira confirmed that this was a common occurrence, but instead of helping him calm down it only pissed him off even more.

“How long has this been going on?” asked coldly. The ice in his voice made Ann keep her head down and refuse to make eye contact. After taking a few moments to collect himself he took a deep breath and released a long sigh. “I didn't mean to sound angry. But I would like to know how long this has been going on for.”

“Since a few weeks after his accident. At least once a week, sometimes more,” she answered. “I wish I could make it stop...” Akira's entire demeanor shifted without warning. His muscles tensed and a venomous aura settled over him.

“Do you have any ideas on who might have done this? Any names would be helpful,” Akira said. Her eyes drifted down to Ryuji in her lap, at the pitiful expression on her friend's face and the tears pouring down his cheeks, and her hand stilled in his hair. She could tell Akira about the boys harassing Ryuji, even if he couldn't do anything about them. It would be a heavy weight off her chest; her only concern would be Ryuji and whether or not he would be okay with Akira knowing. But Ryuji gasped and dug his nails into her arms with a pitifully weak gasp, and she knew her answer. She looked back up at Akira with a renewed fire in her eyes.

“I've got a few people that I know have been bothering him a lot. They're third years. You can start there, if you're serious about helping.” Akira pulled his phone out of his pocket to make a list of the abusers. She gave names, classrooms, and best times to catch them on their own and question them. She also suggested threatening to go to the cops if they refused to cooperate.

Akira figured that would be an effective method of getting answers out of his victims. Probably safer than what had planned, as well.

The first of his targets had slipped off up to the roof to smoke a cigarette between classes. He had a few more hits left when Akira slipped through the door leading outside. A black eyebrow raised in surprise at seeing him.

“The hell are you doing up here?” he asked, eyeing Akira with suspicion. His hand holding his cigarette dropped down behind him to hide it. “You know the roof is off limits, right?”

“So says the delinquent standing up here smoking a cigarette and trying to hide it from me,” Akira pointed out. A nasty look crawled onto the other boy's face, he brought the cigarette back up to his lips to take a long drag from it.

“Don't get smart with me and answer the fucking question.” Akira leaned back against the wall beside the stairwell door, his hands behind his back to brace himself against the hard stone of the wall. His legs crossed at the ankles in front of him, a soft sigh bleeding out into the slightly frigid air.

“I'm up here to ask you about Ryuji. Someone threw your name out there as one of the ones bothering him. Abusing him, is probably a better way of putting it though,” he said. Akira watched hard brown eyes light up in understanding before a sick grin spread up on the pervert's lips.

“Oh yeah. Sakamoto. That blond slut, right? I don't really count what I do to him as abuse, though. He doesn't fight me, so he must want it right?” Akira's eyes narrowed in disgust. He barely managed to keep a snarl from crawling up and out of his mouth.

“It is abuse, actually. He doesn't fight because he obviously doesn't think he has a chance,” he said. “There's a difference you know. And I'm pretty sure the teachers wouldn't be happy hearing about you taking advantage of another student's innocent nature.” The other boy barked a laugh and shook his head from side to side.

“You're new, so I'll cut you some slack. But I can promise you, the teachers don't care about what happens to Sakamoto. He's just some stupid kid who got into an accident and turned into a slut,” he said, hand waving from side to side as he spoke. Akira watched the smoke drift off into the air and let his tongue run across his teeth to keep himself from saying what he really wanted to. Instead he pulled his hands from behind him to shove them into his pockets.

“But the police will probably be interested to find out about it,” he said.”So why don't you just do me a favor and tell me everything you know about those rumors. About who's got Ryuji sent into overload right now too.” His next actions hinged on whether or not his bluff would be called; Akira couldn't realistically go to the police about this, they wouldn't believe him and he knew Ryuji wouldn't admit to anything out of fear. He fully intended on pushing as hard as he could to get a proper answer though. The weight in his pocket reminded him he had a real, honest trump card to pull if he needed. If the snort he received in answer of his threat was anything to go by, he would have to use it after all.

“The cops? Like they'd do anything, You're just a kid who already has a criminal record of your own, and I haven't done shit. They'd probably laugh you right out of the police station or throw you in jail for causing a disturbance anyway,” the other boy warned. He took a long drag from his cigarette and grinned when Akira's only response was to drop his head and stare at his feet for a few moments. When he raised his head Akira slid off off the wall and slowly strode over to him, a blank and empty look on his face.

“Uh-huh. Well that may be the case. But...I really, really want answers about this. You're a third year, you've been here a while. You might even know who started those rumors about him. So I'm going to make sure you answer.” His left hand shot forward to grab the student by the back of his hair with a painful grip, and his right whipped a knife out with terrifying ease to press up against a pale throat. Real honest fear bloomed in those deep brown eyes in front of him, and Akira felt something stir inside him. “So I'm going to give you one chance to tell me everything you know about Ryuji. And I do mean everything.”

“Wha-what the fuck!? What the fuck dude, why are you doing this!?” Akira's hand tightened, a few strands of hair coming loose in his grip, and pushed the blade in just a bit deeper. Not enough to break the skin and cause damage, but enough to get the point across.

“Because Ryuji is my friend. Now. I'm going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer them. Do I make myself clear?” He nodded slowly, and Akira let his lips curl up. “Good. Now. What can you tell me about Ryuji? Do you know who started the rumors?”

“N-no! I swear, I don't know anything! I came here after everything had gone down, one of the second years told me about a slutty first year and I jumped on him! I swear, I didn't have anything to do with it!” Akira clicked his tongue and pulled the blade away to twist the tip gently against his pulse point.

“Which means you don't know anything about how Ryuji's leg broke. Right?” The student started to nod in answer before the prick of the knife against his throat made him think twice and stop.

“Y-yeah. Like I said, I don't know anything about it! I swear, I got here after that! He was already on crutches and everything!” he yelled. “Please, don't hurt me! I swear I won't tell anyone, just don't hurt me!”

“This also means you don't know who's got Ryuji shaking like a fucking leaf with what I'm going to assume is a vibrator up his ass either?”

“No! I really don't! If I did I'd tell you in a heartbeat, just please don't fucking kill me dude!” For a long while all Akira did was stare, sizing the boy up and checking to see if his face gave anything away to the contrary. When he didn't see any telltale signs of bluffing, he conceded the boy was telling the truth to him.

“If I find out you're lying and you know something I'll come back for you, and I won't be as gentle as I was this time,” Akira warned lowly. He loosened his grip and pocketed the knife before turning and walking back off into the stairwell without another word. The student left standing on the roof finished his cigarette off with shaking hands and quickly pulled another one out to light up. He needed the rush of nicotine to calm his nerves after the near-death experience he narrowly avoided.

Regrettably, Akira didn't have much luck with the others Ann had told him about. Each one had dropped two or three other names, and it seemed to be a continuous chain until he reached the end and found himself with fuckall in the ways of information. The only thing he'd learned was that the rumors started after Ryuji's accident, and that most of the teachers seem more content with ignoring anything and everything that happened to him. Most of the students weren't even aware of the abuse going on, either.

Yuuki apologized to him for not being more helpful, saying he wished he could tell Akira more than what he had already. He refused to make eye contact with Akira, instead preferring to talk with his face in his phone so nobody knew he was actively talking to Akira. He promised he would do what he could to help make Ryuji more comfortable and make things easier for him. He also made sure that Akira understood trying to free Ryuji from his abuse was a moot point. The one at the top had too much sway in the school, and if Akira prodded too hard he would find himself in hot water.

He found Ann and Shiho standing around outside after school, fingers brushing together and soft giggles floating over to him that made his heart ache. He'd been in a few relationships, all but one staying a secret for both his and his boyfriends' sake. He'd gotten a taste of love with the last one and seeing these two together opened up old wounds. He pushed those memories down and instead walked over to catch their attention.

“Takamaki, right? Ryuji's friend?” The two girls immediately pulled apart, Ann's face dropping from its previous happy expression to a more concerned one. “I wanted to ask you a few things...”

“Y-yeah. Sure. Shiho, why don't you go wait for me at Big Bang? You know what I want to eat,” she suggested. Akira could see hesitation on Shiho's face, but with a gentle prodding from Ann she nodded and left. Ann's attention immediately returned back to Akira. “So what did you wanna ask?”

“Do Ryuji's parents know anything about this? They have to notice how often he goes home in...a state, you know?” After a long while of careful consideration, Ann finally cracked with a soft sigh.

“Ryuji lives alone. His mom died a last year just before his accident, and his dad left after her death,” she explained. Akira's eyes widened a touch at the confession. “He said his friend Go-chan is taking care of everything for him. He doesn't really have anybody at home to worry about him like this.”

“Now I feel a bit bad for asking. I didn't realize something like that happened to him,” Akira whispered. Ann smiled softly at him, bringing a hand up to pat his shoulder softly. “I almost feel like I'm prying into his personal life at this point.”

“Don't be. It's nice that you're taking an interest and want to help. I just genuinely hope you succeed somehow. Ryuji's been my friend since middle school, and I hate seeing things like this for him. I hate seeing him stuck in this situation with no way out. So I want to hear it from you, Kurusu. Do you swear you're going to do everything you can to help Ryuji out?”

“I swear on my life I will do whatever it takes to set Ryuji free from this torture. He's my friend, and I don't let friends suffer like this,” he said. Ann nodded now, happy with his choice of words, and pulled her hand away.

“Good. Don't disappoint me. I'd hate to have to kick your butt over Ryuji.” She leaned down to pick her bag up from the ground beside her and slowly ran a hand through her twin tails. “I've told you everything I know. I honestly wish I could be of more help.” Akira smiled at her and shrugged.

“Mishima said the same thing. Don't worry. I'll figure something out.”

 

At Leblanc he found himself roped into doing dishes that night, and this time he was thankful for the mindless task. It freed his mind for other things. Things like sifting through the names he was given, seeing if whoever broke Ryuji's leg might be among those names, serving coffee to Minato, getting ready to-

“Minato!?” Akira very nearly dropped the coffee cup in his hand when he realized just who had sat down at the counter not five minutes before closing. Not much had changed since the last time Akira had seen him in person, except for a few very soft gray strands that had already begun to pepper in to dark blue hair. He had a serene smile on his face, and his eye drooped like he was about to fall asleep sitting there. Akira knew that he wasn't though. It was just how Minato always looked.

“You know this guy?” Sojiro asked, raising an eyebrow up in surprise. “Didn't think you had any friends here yet.” Minato blinked tiredly and turned his attention to Sojiro.

“I'm not from around here. I'm a family friend of Akira's. His parents told me about what happened, and I decided to come check on him myself,” he answered. He happily accepted the coffee cup from Akira and took a long, contented sip. He let out a soft sigh at the taste, and his smile grew more. “The coffee is delicious, by the way.”

“Thanks. The place closes in...” Sojiro glanced down at his phone quickly to check the time. “...three minutes, by the way.” Minato set his cup down and tilted his head slightly.

“Why not let Akira close up for you? I don't get the chance to go anywhere often, and I would hate to have my our conversation be left so short,” he said. His visible eye locked with Sojiro's in what Akira could tell was a subtle suggestion to take his advice and leave them in peace. After a quick staring competition Sojiro sighed and looked over at Akira now.

“The only reason I'm doing this is because of him,” he said, jerking his thumb at Minato. “You'd better make sure to clean up and lock up behind me. If I come back tomorrow and the place looks a mess I'll make sure you regret it.” Akira's hands went up and his head turned off to the side.

“Alright. I'll make sure it gets cleaned up. Promise. Minato wouldn't let me get away with it anyway,” he said. Satisfied with his answer Sojiro whipped his apron off and tossed a key over to Akira, who caught it easily. “Hmm?”

“It's a key to this place. Can't always wait for you to get back to lock up you know. Was planning on giving it to you anyway. See ya.” He waved half-heartedly to Akira, an odd expression on his face, and quietly left the cafe. Akira stared down at the key in his hand for a moment before pocketing it and looking up at Minato. “I'm...genuinely surprised to see you here, you know.”

“I know you are. When you told me what happened to you, I had to come see you for myself as I said. To make sure you were...adjusting well. You've been here...four days now, correct? Have you had a chance to find a new confession booth?” he asked, another small smile on his face. Akira snorted at that and pulled his glasses off his face to toss onto the counter.

“Oh ha ha. You still haven't dropped that joke?” he asked, coming over to plop down beside Minato and lean forward on the counter. In answer Minato shrugged one shoulder slightly and brought the coffee cup back to his lips.

“Of course not. Though the question still stands. Have you?” When Akira didn't immediately look up at him he took that as an answer to the negative and hummed in thought. “I suppose you weren't quite as lucky as I was. Your school life is much more rigorous. But that's where I step in.” He calmly reached into the pocket of his jacket and produced a key ring. He flipped through the keys before popping one off and handing it over to Akira. “Here. This should help your endeavors in making Japan a better place. It's a warehouse not far from here. You'll have to lay low after the confessions, but I don't think you'll struggle too much.”

“How did you even get this?” Akira asked as he took the key. Minato brought a finger up to his lips and shook his head.

“I can't go revealing all of my secrets now, even to you. Maybe one day when we're older.” He reached over to pat Akira's head, which he was only able to do when they sat next to each other given Minato's height. “How are you adjusting to your new life here?”

“It's awful. I've only really made one friend since I've come here, and I already feel I have to protect him. It's not a bad thing, I just...wish it had been different,” he answered. He watched Minato stop mid-movement and ever so gently turn his head to stare at Akira out of the corner of his eye.

“'Protect' him? Are you saying you have a target already lined up? I would have thought it would take longer,” he said. “Is it really a good idea for you to force a confession so soon after moving here? I know the police aren't suspecting a teenager but still. That could get risky.” He brushed his hair out of his eye gently to give Akira a full stare now.

“I don't have a choice, I feel. Someone is...physically abusing Ryuryu. My friend. There's rumors about him that have been going around school that he's a slut, but they're not true. He also doesn't fight them when they try, so...” He grimaced as his stomach twisted at the thought of what his friend had been through already, and just how bad things could get if he didn't step in and stop this now. “I can't just sit by and let this happen. You know it. And besides, if the guy who's doing it isn't flashy enough for Joker, I can tell Crow and he'll take him out instead.”

“So you do know Crow. I thought perhaps you were saying that to keep me from worrying about you suddenly disappearing for so long,” Minato said. “Who is he?” Akira chuckled and held a finger up to his lips.

“Can't reveal all of my secrets, now, can I?” he teased, and Minato laughed softly.

“Already turning my words against me. Bravo, Akira. You're learning well. You've come a long way since I found you with blood on your hands in a back alley,” he said. “I'm actually proud of you.”

Akira's heart jumped in his chest, and he had to quickly duck his head off to the side to hide the look on his face. No one had ever properly said “I'm proud of you” to him before, and hearing it from Minato, from the man who trained Akira in the art of murder and helped him avoid going to jail once already, was a strange thing to him. Once he had calmed his racing heart enough he turned back to give Minato a warm smile.

“Thanks, Senpai. It's nice hearing that from you. I really look up to you,” he admitted. “Mom and Dad talked about you a lot when I was younger. Not about you specifically, obviously, but you as Reaper. They were scared shitless to go out anywhere until you disappeared.” Minato had to fight back a chuckle at the admission.

“They had nothing to worry about. I only killed people I thought needed to die for the greater good. Unless they were horrendous people they shouldn't have worried about anything,” he explained. He took a moment to finish his coffee before setting the cup down and sliding out of his seat. “Now. I believe you were asked to close up the cafe?”

“Yes, Senpai.”

 

By the end of week Akira felt he was at his wit's end. He hadn't found anything new in regards to Ryuji, and felt frustrated he had hit a metaphorical brick wall. He and Akechi had traded numbers just before parting ways that night at the dumping grounds, and the only exchange they had was Akechi giving Akira an address and a time. Unsurprisingly he had insisted they meet up at a famous pancake house near Shinjuku late at night.

Akira slid down into his seat and sighed. After his conversation with Minato he had slipped out and gone to check out the warehouse he had been gifted. It was much larger than what Akira honestly needed, but he figured the extra space inside would be useful somehow. It gave him plenty of space to store his supplies, like his ropes and tarps and such. Perhaps that had been Minato's logic behind the larger warehouse...that had to be the case, given the fact that he had found brand new-

“Ah-kun~ There you are!” He suddenly found himself with a lapful of warm body and strong arms wrapped around his chest. The voice was one he didn't recognize, and the perfume she(?) was wearing was a scent Akira didn't recognize but found pleasant all the same. When he tried to push the stranger off the arms around him squeezed harder. “Don't try to push me away, idiot, you'll draw suspicion.” Akira's eyes widened in surprise and his entire body stiffened.

“...Ake...chi...?” he whispered. The body pulled away with a bright smile and a charming giggle. The only thing that tipped him off and kept him from shoving this person away was the dried blood red eyes and the very subtle dip of Akechi's figure under the dress he wore. Not that Akira would admit he knew what Akechi's figure looked like, of course. He didn't make it a habit of staring at Akechi any chance he got at all.

“Sorry I took so long, dear. One of my heels broke so I had to switch my shoes.” She (he, Akira corrected, no matter how convincing Akechi looked as a woman) slid in beside him and carefully looped his arms around Akira's to hold. “No seriously. I was wearing heels and one of them snapped on my way down the stairs to the trains. I was pissed, those heels were nice. Anyway, we're here for a purpose. Have you learned anything while at school?”

“A little bit. Not as much as I would have liked though. All I learned is that people have been taking advantage of him since his accident, most of the teachers don't even really care about what's going on, and most of the students don't even know what's going on,” he said calmly. Akechi threw a leg over on Akira's lap, and without thinking his hand settled down onto a deliciously slender calf. “Have you found anything out yet?”

“Unfortunately no, I haven't. I went poring through the case files and nothing seems to have stuck out to me. The only thing that might mean something is that an anonymous donor took care of Ryuyu's medical bills for him. They assume it was the academy trying to cover the accident up and keep them out of the news,”Akechi sighed. His fingers trailed across Akira's chest softly, a soft and flirtatious smile on his lips. “I truly wish I could tell you more, darling, but I'm afraid I haven't found anything new.”

“That's fine. It's a start, and a place we can build from,” Akira pointed out, his hand beginning to trail up and down Akechi's leg. A full-body shiver ran from Akechi's head down to his toes. He inhaled slowly, a finger coming up to hang off the corner of his glossed lips. His eyelashes fluttered as a hand drifted down towards Akira's thigh to squeeze. “...What do you think you're doing?”

“Don't think I haven't noticed the way you stare at me when we meet, Kurusu,” he purred, leaning in closer to whisper in Akira's ear now. A hand ghosted across his chin to settle on his throat and squeeze ever so gently. “All those looks you give me...the heat in your eyes when you see me covered in blood...I'm not blind.” He leaned in to gently nibble the side of Akira's neck and grinned at the sharp intake of breath he heard. The hand on his calf squeezed tight, and another one went down to his ass to grab at it.

“I guess I wasn't imagining those same looks directed towards me then, either,” Akira whispered. The hand at Akechi's ass came up to pull him off of Akira's neck. He hissed and a dark gleam settled in wine dark eyes. “Well...not necessarily towards me. But you always get this slight haze to your eyes when one of those idiot TV hosts asks you about Joker. You squirm a little bit, like you're excited and trying to hide it. Reminds me of a child in a candy store eager for a lollipop.” Akechi chuckled softly, the hand on Akira's thigh moving ever so slightly to the side to squeeze at his half-hard cock. “And it seems I'm not far off the mark, either.”

“Why don't we find a private place so I can finally get my lollipop, hmm~?” Akechi leaned up to nip at Akira's air and gracefully rolled himself out of Akira's lap. This gave him a nice view of Akechi's ass, and pleasantly enough he had even gone so far as to wear panties with the disguise. “I have just the place in mind, too. Not too far from here.” Without asking he reached down to grab Akira's hand and began to pull him off with a quiet but excited giggle.

Honestly, neither of them were too terribly surprised things had come to this. Two very hormonal teenagers on the cusp of adulthood with a fucked up sense of right and wrong stumbling across each other and connecting tended to create strange situations. The two of them fucking in a love hotel wouldn't be too strange, they figured. In fact they almost seemed to think of it as a game of sorts. See who could willingly give up the most control to the other, understand completely that the other's life was in their hands and at any minute they could snap and find themselves with a slit throat or a missing head. They couldn't realistically fault the other if they decided to hold back. The threat of death was enough to send what could be described as a very realistic fire pulsing under their skin with each wild beat of their hearts.

Admittedly almost all of Akira's attention had been on Akechi's very pert and very nice ass, he completely missed where Akechi had pulled him until he found himself pulled into a heated kiss and very eager hands pawing at his hoodie. He quickly shrugged out it, noting absently that his shirt had been pulled off with it, and hiked the hem of Akechi's dress up to get at his panties. He made sure to run his hands over Akechi's ass as he pushed them down, pausing just long enough to squeeze and pull out a beautiful and soft whine before continuing to shove the black lace panties down to the floor. He immediately dropped down to join them and let out an appreciative moan at the sight before him.

Akira licked a long, slow stripe from the base of Akechi's cock up to the tip. His lips gently closed around the head while his hand settled down onto the length to squeeze. This time Akechi moaned, and a hand shot up to grab a handful of Akira's hair to twist. His moan shot vibrations straight down Akechi's cock, making his knees shake and his hips jerk forward slightly. Akira's free hand gripped Akechi's hip with a frightening grip as his eyes flicked up to watch the brunette's face as he slowly, slowly sunk down onto the thick cock in front of him. The hand in his hair tightened even more and made his eyes roll back into his head.

“Just...how much pain do...do you like?” Akechi breathed, obviously struggling to find his voice already despite Akira's light teasing. Or perhaps it was because of the teasing, but it only made him think thatt maybe he would die and go to heaven tonight. He expected a proper answer, and instead only got a heated and pleading look in Akira's eyes. He was silently begging Akechi to test the limits, find out just how much he could handle and make him hurt so wonderfully he would feel it for the next week. Never one to disappoint Akechi twisted his grip and yanked Akira back off of his cock forcibly. His mouth fell open and a low moan shot a bolt of lust straight down to Akechi's cock; the heated look in Akira's eyes only made things worse.

He squirmed uncomfortably, trying to rut against the carpet and only getting the barest hint of friction against his straining length. He reached down to pop the buttons on his jeans and ease a bit of the pressure but felt both of them kicked away none too gently in warning. His eyes had blown wide in lust with the gloss from Akechi's lips mixed with the spit and precum smeared across his lips and chin. Being denied permission to touch himself, he instead reached forward to grab at Akechi's cock instead and try to get his it back into his mouth. It took soft whines and an honest to god plead to make Akechi let go of black curls.

Akira shot forward and pulled half of Akechi into his mouth in one quick motion, startling Akechi and making him cry out in surprise. His hands settled onto Akechi's hips to hold him still as his head began bobbing at a grueling pace, obviously meant to tease and excite instead of force an orgasm out. He wanted to savor the taste on his tongue, the feel of a nice thick cock in his mouth and the hands gripping his shoulders hard enough to probably leave hand prints in their wake. His glasses pressed painfully on his nose and eventually annoyed him enough to the point that he pulled them off and tossed them off into some dark corner of the room before focusing entirely on giving Akechi the best head of his life.

“K-Kurusu...stop...teasing...” Even with a dick in his mouth Akira managed to smirk somehow, a playful look taking over his features now. He knew exactly what he was doing and he had no intention of stopping with such weak begging. Instead he pushed all the way down until his nose buried itself into thick brown curls and held Akechi's cock in the back of his throat, swallowing a few times and watching that beautiful face above his twist in pleasure and surprise. When he pulled away he licked his lips seductively and shot up to his feet to finally pull his pants and boxers off. They found themselves off in another corner of the room before he began working the clasps to Akechi's dress open. Before it slipped down too far Akechi dug into one of the pockets and pulled out a bottle of what Akira could recognize as high quality lube.

He snatched the bottle away and shoved Akechi back against the bed roughly before climbing up and settling between the brunette's legs. He popped the bottle open but before he could do anything else Akechi threw him onto his side, then rolled so he was sitting in Akira's lap instead.

“And what makes you think I'll let you fuck me, hmm?” He took the bottle back from Akira and felt those devilish hands on his hips again. He shuddered softly at the feeling of Akira suddenly grinding up against his ass.

“If you want me to submit you better make the sex worth it,” Akira purred. Akechi let Akira continue to rut against him, enjoying the teasing feeling of the head of a cock pushing against his entrance and threatening to push in. Soon enough he grew bored, and instead flashed a smile down at Akira that made his stomach drop.

Before he could register what was happening Akechi had a hand gripping his jaw tightly and two fingers shoved deep enough into his throat to trigger a normal person's gag reflex. Akechi moved to teasingly push his thigh against Akira's cock and give him a touch of delicious pressure. When Akira moaned a hand settled against his throat and began to push down. He gasped in surprise and his dick twitched in excitement. Already a heady buzz began settling in his brain, the lack of oxygen getting to him embarrassingly quick and making his hips roll up against Akechi's leg. Every time he thought he'd found a good angle the fucker moved his leg and left Akira whining and wanting more from him.

He tried to hook a leg around Akechi's waist to pull him closer and instead found the leg moved away completely. He choked out what was supposed to be a whine and tried to push his hips down more. It caused Akechi to press harder into his throat and made his eyes roll back as he swallowed down on Akechi's fingers on instinct. His tongue swirled and flicked against the thin digits, pushing them apart and trying to get him to just hurry the fuck up. His cock was leaking an obscene amount of precum down onto his stomach and he wanted to get off now.

“Beg for it, Kurusu, and I might give you what you want,” Akechi whispered. Akira swallowed again, trying to find his voice and failing miserably with the hand on his throat. Deciding he wouldn't get any sound out he instead mouthed the words “Fuck me please” and hoped to whatever god would listen that it would be enough. His prayers seemed to have been answered, as the hand moved itself from his throat and those two spit-soaked fingers were trying to pry him open instead.

The burn felt heavenly and made him claw at the sheets in desperation. They made it in easily enough and caused just enough friction against his insides to push the pleasure he felt even higher. He wanted to grab at Akechi and claw at him but every attempt he made was met with his hands getting slapped away and harsh warnings that if he didn't behave Akechi would be just fine stopping things now and leaving. That got through to him well enough, and instead he forced himself to clutch at the sheets beneath them hard enough to threaten tears in the fabric. When Akechi pushed a third finger in his hips stuttered and he inhaled sharply; he had to reach down and grip the base of his cock painfully tight to keep himself from losing it so soon. When the brunette began biting down his thighs and leaving visible, painful marks he melted against the bed with a sigh.

Finally Akechi removed his fingers and Akira could have sobbed in joy. He almost pulled his hand away from his length before realizing that if he did he would pop like a champagne bottle the moment Akechi pushed into him, and like hell would he let that happen to himself. So instead he kept his hand squeezed tight and watched Akechi pour a generous amount of lube onto his cock. When he noticed Akira's questioning look he chuckled softly and set a slick hand on the underside of Akira's left leg to pull it up and throw it over his shoulder.

“I want to hurt you, not tear you, you know,” he muttered. His clean hand grabbed his cock to steady it as he pushed inside. At the first taste of heat and pressure he sighed, vaguely noting the that Akira did the same. He kept easing forward, a little bit faster than he should have for the sole reason of understanding that Akira got off on pain. Perhaps another time they could test each others' pain thresholds, but for now all he wanted was to watch Akira come undone beneath him and beg for his cock.

With his hips flush to Akira's ass he could finally breathe, collect himself and try to push the building orgasm down to keep their fun form ending prematurely. He could absolutely go more than one round but the last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself by cumming in just a few quick thrusts. If Akira's hold on his dick told him anything he wasn't the only one already pushed to the edge between them.

Once he was confident he wouldn't cum immediately he began to move, already starting a rough pace that had both their toes curling and Akira's back arching up off the mattress. His hands grabbed at Akechi again and this time they weren't stopped. His nails dug into thick shoulders and left deep indentations before dragging down his back and leaving angry red welts in their wake. The stinging made Akechi's hips jerk forward hard and Akria keened at the feeling. He dropped his leg from Akechi's shoulder and leaned forward to suck painfully on the side of Akechi's neck; the hand of his soaked in lube reached up to grab at Akira's hair again and pull him back hard enough to make him hiss.

“Don't leave marks where people can see them, idiot,” he warned. Akira just laughed and hauled him in closer to leave a bite mark instead of a hickey. When he was pulled back again he just smirked.

“You can...can cover them up...easy en...enough...” His eyes rolled back into his head while his nails scratched at Akechi's shoulders again. The angle he sat at had the head of Akechi's cock brushing right up against his sweet spot. Flashes of light blinked across his vision and sent bright hot heat through his body. They kissed again, teeth catching on lips and drawing blood that Akira happily licked up with a hysterical laugh. “Fuck you split my lip, you bastard.”

“Be thankful that's all I sp-split, you little shit.” He threw Akira back down onto the bed and began slamming into him hard enough to slide him across the sheets. Akira moaned loud and long and deep, one hand coming up to grab the sheets by his head and the other coming down to roughly jerk himself off. He wanted to keep going and keep feeding that delicious burn in his lower gut but he just couldn't fucking take it anymore. He was having a hard time distinguishing between the pain and pleasure, and it was pulling him dangerously close to the edge.

Akechi seemed to have different ideas, fully intending on drawing this out for as long as possible, because he snatched Akira's hand from his weeping cock and shoved it down onto the bed above his head. Akira quickly brought his other hand down in an attempt to finish the job but before he could move much found it in the same position as the first. He immediately began squirming, using what strength he had to try and pry Akechi's grip off of him. In return he was given a nasty glare, and Akechi pushed his hips forward before stopping.

“Behave. Stop fighting.” For a brief second it seemed like Akira would listen, his entire body going still except for the heaving of his chest and the brief stutter of his hips trying to get Akechi to move again. But then he twisted, somehow managing to get his hands free from Akechi's grip, and lurched forward to leave a nasty bite mark on his left shoulder. Instead of grabbing at Akira's hair Akechi slipped his hand up to forcefully grip Akira's jaw again and squeezed tight. Their foreheads pressed together and Akechi glared to get his point across. “I said behave.”

“But where's the fun in that, huh? If I behave that means I'm just laying here letting you fuck me like a cocksleeve, and that just seems so boring, don't you think?” His nails very gently ran up Akechi's side, sending a wonderful shudder along his body, before he dug in and scratched down in one harsh movement. Akechi forcefully shoved him back down onto the bed and grabbed both of his wrists to hold him steady as he began to move again.

Akira's eyes rolled back into his head, his legs wrapped around Akechi's waist to pull him close and give him better leverage to roll against the brutal pace that had set. Each delicious thrust pushed against his inner walls and made his toes curl in bliss. He kept trying to struggle against Akechi (at this point it was literally just for show, Akira didn't want him to stop because getting anybody to be rough with him in bed was a fucking pain) and whimpered pitifully.

He hadn't expected to be the one giving up control in this situation, but dammit if he wasn't absolutely loving this. Akechi had has arms pulled taught enough to make his muscles strain a touch on the painful side. He clawed at the open air to try and get something to hold on to and ground himself, but all he found was disappointment. He was hitting his high faster then he wanted and he hated it. He would chalk this up to understanding just how dangerous a person the boy between his legs actually was.

Akechi's hips slowed as Akira found himself hauled upwards and his arms wrapped around Akechi's neck. They kissed again, this one just as heated as the previous one and even managing to reopen the wound on Akira's lips, before Akechi pulled away.

“Don't. Claw. At me. Don't. Bite. At me. Do I make myself clear?” he growled. Akira nodded dazedly, content to let Akechi beat him black and blue if that's what he wanted. If Akechi wanted to choke him until he passed out he would present his throat in a fucking heartbeat if it just meant that he got to feel the barest hint of an orgasm finally. They had been at this for so long Akira wasn't sure he hadn't spent the whole night fighting and fucking Akechi and school started for both of them in just a few hours.

When Akechi grabbed Akira's hips and began moving he practically screamed in pleasure. Akechi had honed in on his sweet spot, hitting it with startling accuracy every time he thrust in. Instead of clawing at that beautiful pale back like he wanted to he settled for digging his hands into thick brown locks and holding on for dear life. His poor neglected cock rubbed against Akechi's stomach and added an entire other level to the sensations that he was drowning in.

Eventually deciding he couldn't take it he pulled back just far enough to get his hand back around his dick and began furiously jerking himself off again. He only lasted a few quick strokes before his vision whited out and his lungs locked up from just how hard he came. When he came back to he found Akechi had dropped him back onto the bed and was shallowly thrusting into him and right on the cusp of cumming. Akira watched the muscles in his abdomen twitch in anticipation before he stilled and Akira felt delicious warmth flood into him.

“Ryu...ji...”

Akira's eyes widened in surprise. He'd barely heard it, just a faint whisper at the edge of an exhale, but he he knew he hadn't imagined it. Akechi, the little bastard, had just moaned Ryuji's name after fucking Akira. He knew he should be pissed and upset. It was rude to moan someone else's name during sex unless roleplay was involved, and that got into some complete other territory that Akira had only touched on once or twice.

But he also couldn't really fault Akechi for calling out Ryuji's name instead of his. This was a casual fuck, no strings attached, and Akechi obviously had deep feelings for the blond that he wasn't quite ready to talk about. Deciding that was a can of worms he'd rather not open right now, he opted for squirming off of Akechi's cock with a pleased sigh and letting his eyes fall closed to properly enjoy the post-sex haze a little bit longer.

When Akechi flopped out onto the bed next to him he opened his eyes and slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. He could feel a pleasant ache already settling into his hips.

“Hey Akechi. What you're doing for Ryuji is really nice. You're a good friend,” he said. Akechi cracked an eye open to give Akira a questioning look.

“What are you talking about, Kurusu?” he asked.

“Taking care of Ryuji. Ann told me about it.” Akechi sat up now, the confusion in his eyes turning to confusion instead. “...You're paying for Ryuji's stuff right? Like his apartment and food and stuff, right?”

“No I'm not,” Akechi argued. “Ryuyu told me he had a job to cover everything. Why did he tell Ann...?”

“Whoever is pulling the strings must be bribing Ryuji,” Akira said. “They're likely using the money as an excuse to keep him quiet. The question is who...?”

“Someone who would have enough money to support him. Someone paid for all of his hospital expenses. There's a good chance the person who did that is the same person who is bribing Ryuji.” Akira hummed to himself and leaned back against the headboard in thought. “...I feel the principal may be a likely subject.

“Really? That weird toad-looking guy? Why him?” Akira asked.

“Because if Ryuji is kept quiet, the school will be kept out of the news and Shujin's reputation will be kept squeaky clean. No matter what it takes, that is the school's top priority,” Akechi answered. Akira scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“No surprise there. But asking the principal won't get us anything, I can promise you he won't say anything, he isn't stupid enough to outright admit to blackmailing a student,” he said. After a moment's thought he turned to Akechi now. “Maybe we could find something in his office?”

“It's a possibility, yes,” Akechi admitted. “Could you sneak into his office on Monday and look around?” Akira shrugged and brought a hand up to cover the already forming bruise on his throat. The slightest touch sent fresh waves of pain spiking out.

“Possibly, yes. Damn...I'll need to take something for my throat. You're lucky I wear a turtleneck,” Akira teased.

“You're the one who didn't tell me to stop choking you, you know~” Akechi purred. He brought a hand up to toy with soft black curls. For a brief moment Akira considered bringing up what happened when Akechi came, but decided against it; instead he reached up to calmly bat the hand away.

“That's the besides the point Akechi. Also I'm not really complaining, I loved it. The pain was fucking amazing. It's so hard finding someone to be rough with in the bedroom, honestly.” He coughed suddenly, wincing a little bit at the stinging in the back of his throat. “I should probably stop talking.”

“It's getting late anyway, we both should hurry home already,” Akechi sighed as he rolled out of bed. The movement caused the scratches across his shoulders and back to split open again. A few small drops of blood rolled down his back, and Akira couldn't help watching them roll down pale skin. “Well? Get out of bed, Kurusu.”

“Mmmm, but I'm comfortable~” he whined, coughing afterwards and clearing his throat. When Akechi shot him a look he groaned and flopped out of bed to finally get dressed.

The night had gone far better than Akira could have hoped for honestly. He had a new lead to look into at school in a few days, he had blackmail material on Akechi if things ever went south, and he'd had arguably the best sex of his life. Sure his throat would be bruised, and if he wasn't careful someone could see and ask too many questions, but the high collar of his turtleneck seemed to hide the mark well enough.

He made it home much later than he should have, a silent blessing with the fact Sojiro wouldn't be able to ask any awkward questions. He took a moment to check the bruise on his throat in the bathroom mirror before crawling into bed with a heavy sigh and finally letting himself fall asleep after struggling to keep his eyes open for the better part of an hour now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serial Killer Profile: Joker  
> Real Name: Akira Kurusu  
> Occupation: High School Student  
> Status: Active  
> Official Kills: 14  
> Signatures: Calling Cards and Confession Videos  
> Danger to Public: Low  
> Targets: Flashy, usually public figures he can expose the crimes of  
> Method: He usually works with a Hacker named “Alibaba”, and together they pick out a victim and do as much research as possible so they can nail them for the crimes they hide from the public. Once they have determined the target, Akira writes the card and uses various methods to distribute it where the victim will see. From there once its known they’re a target of Joker, he spirits them away to his “confession booth”. There they are forced to confess; some do it right away and get relatively painless deaths, others require force and get drawn out pain. The video is then edited and Alibaba distributes it throughout the web to ensure the victim's reputation reflects what they really were.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes hello. Quick A/N: I'm uploading chapter 6 on Saturday instead of Sunday this week for two reasons. One: Saturday is our favorite serial killer's birthday~! And two: I won't be available AT ALL on Sunday to post it, because I'll be in Houston for Springfest, which is a card game tournament I'll be participating in. Specifically Weiss Schwarz, playing the Persona 5 set.  
> Also! This chapter kind of touches a little more heavily on what Kamoshida is doing to Ryuji, but it's still nothing too graphic I don't think? I suppose this is kind of a slight trigger warning for off-screen but heavily implied rape in this particular chapter. I'm also trying to decide if I'll actually post Kamoshida's confession chapter or not. It's pretty graphic torture, but it'll be its own chapter and won't contain anything new story-wise if you can't handle it. I'd like some input on whether or not I should post it please~!

Sunday passed without incident for Akira. He ducked out of Leblanc at his normal time and immediately turned down the street to visit the nearby clinic. He quietly asked for medicine to take care of his ruined throat. The doctor gave him a pointed look when he asked, her eyes immediately honing in on the marks Akechi had left behind the night before. Without thinking he reached up to cover them with his own hand. She shook her head at him and handed him some ointment to rub on that would help the bruises heal and cover them up at the same time. A sort of two-for-one deal, Akira noted with a chuckle.

He slathered on a thick coat of the stuff and ducked back into Leblanc to spend the rest of the day in his room reading and trying to distract himself from remembering what he had heard last night. When he happened to glance over to his dirty clothes from the day before and remembered that he had completely neglected to clean himself out in favor of walking around with cum dripping out of him every step he just couldn't.

Akechi had whispered Ryuji's name instead of his, and any normal person would be livid at that. Akira wasn't the most stable person however, if the fact that he was a serial killer was anything to go by. Instead he played those brief seconds through his head over and over again, slowly but surely coming to the realization that Akechi very obviously had feelings for his best friend that he either refused to acknowledge or was too scared to say anything about for fear of ruining that friendship. Understandable, he had to admit.

Monday rolled around, and Akira had to take a few deep breaths as he walked through the gates into Shujin. He had a general idea of what he needed to do to get into the principal's office, but actually making it in there would be a chore. Especially since he seemed to almost always be in his office during school hours. He knew he could theoretically find a way to sneak in after school, but he wanted answers and explanations as soon as possible.

He had convinced the student council president into telling him as much information about the principal as possible, including how often he left his office. As it turned out the answer was a whopping one time a day, for fifteen minutes during lunch and not a minute longer. He'd calmly paid her to text him when the principal left that day and slipped off to class to wait.

When his phone vibrated in his pocket he didn't have to look down to know who sent it. He feigned sickness and managed to get himself excused off to the restroom. Instead he headed off upstairs quiet as a mouse. The principal happened to turn a corner at the same moment he did and very nearly bumped into him.

“Watch where you're going. Shouldn't you be in class, anyway?” he asked, scrutinizing Akira and waiting for an answer. Akira refused to make eye contact as he spoke.

“I'm sorry. The student council president asked me to come help her with something important. I didn't mean to get in your way,” he said. He played up every aspect of the good student he was supposed to be, easing back into his behaviors from his hometown. The way he acted around teachers, the demure personality, the softness in his voice that seemed to disarm everyone he spoke to. As expected the principal huffed at him, buying every word of what he said.

“Just be more careful,” he grunted and continued on down the stairs. Akira let his muscles relax and continued on down towards the door he was looking for. No surprise, he found it locked, but Akira came prepared. He reached into his school bag and whipped out a set of lock picks. After studying the door knob for a few seconds he dug out the correct picks and set to work on popping the lock open. It opened easily enough under his practiced fingers, and after pocketing the lock picks he calmly strolled inside and shut the door behind him. A few filing cabinets stood off against the side wall that caught Akira's attention. He went over to look through them and found himself a little surprised to find the top cabinet unlocked.

He glanced through the files quickly and found nothing that piqued his interest. No receipts from a hospital, no financial records that pointed towards supporting another person, nothing. The next filing cabinet down wasn't locked either; the only thing of interest was a few records on some of the more problematic students that Akira figured he could use for blackmail as well before dropping down to check the bottom filing cabinet. This one, oddly enough, was locked, and Akira wasn't sure he'd be able to pick this lock quickly enough to avoid getting caught. A quick glance at his phone told him he'd already been in the office for ten minutes, and he was pushing the time limit he set for himself. He took the opportunity to glance at the message he had been sent.

_Student Council President  
He's left for lunch. Unless he gets dragged into a conversation he'll be back in fifteen minutes._

He took a cursory glance through the large desk in the center of the room and found nothing there either. He made sure to lock the door behind him as he left to avoid raising suspicions and quickly hurried back downstairs to his classroom. He slid back into his seat with a huff and pulled his phone out to message Akechi.

_I didn't find anything. There was a locked filing cabinet but I didn't have time to look inside it. I'll try and sneak back in later to check it out._

He slid his phone back into his pocket and leaned forward in his seat to at least feign interest in the lessons the teacher was spouting off. Some lecture about literature and a gentleman thief who ended up in a relationship with the very detective who was supposed to apprehend him. His phone went off, and he made a joke to himself that he seemed pretty popular all of a sudden today when he pulled it out to look at the message.

_Don't bother. The principal isn't responsible. I did a bit of snooping; he doesn't make enough to support another person reliably. He has no side jobs and lives in a surprisingly ratty apartment on his own. As much as I would have liked for this to be the answer I'm afraid he isn't the one we're looking for._

Akira clicked his tongue in frustration and pocketed his phone again. Sonofabitch. He had been afraid that was going to be the case, but he would have preferred he be wrong. Yet again they found themselves planted firmly back at the starting line. His leg bounced anxiously underneath his desk as he began to mentally thumb through his catalog of knowledge tucked away from the brief week he'd spent here. A low, frustrated growl slipped out and he had to clench his fists painfully tight to keep from lashing out.

The final bell rang, and Akira gathered his school supplies together with visible anger. He almost missed Mishima coming over to him until he heard the boy clear his throat to get his attention.

“Ummm...Kurusu, have you...been digging around about what's been happening to Ryuji still?” he asked quietly. Before he could offer up an answer Mishima raised a hand to silence him. “Stop. I warned you before, and I'm...I'm warning you again. Stop asking about Ryuji, before you get him in trouble.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and smiled warmly before quickly ducking his head and clearing his throat. “I'm serious, Kurusu. Stay away.” He scuttled out of the room immediately, leaving Akira confused and more than a little bit concerned. Not necessarily for his own well-being, but for Ryuji's.

He started to follow after Mishima with every intention of questioning him but seeing Ryuji stumble down the hallway with tears in his eye and shaking uncontrollably sidetracked that line of thought. He found himself carefully taking Ryuji's arm to steady him and keep him from falling on his face.

“Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?” he asked quietly. Ryuji looked like he wanted to answer but his voice had caught in his throat. The pleading look in his eyes caused Akira's feet to move before his brain and pull him off somewhere more quiet. A back alley nearby to Shujin gave them enough silence and comfort Ryuji obviously needed right now.

The blond settled down onto an air conditioner unit and pulled his legs up to his chest slowly. Akira leaned against the opposite wall and tucked a hand into his pants pocket. He watched the shaking slowly subside, the blank look in Ryuji's eyes finally dissipate and the gentle warmth begin to return. Eventually his legs finally uncurled from in front of him and hung over the edge of the air conditioner. His hands gripped the metal tight enough to white his knuckles.

“...What happened to you?” Akira asked quietly. “You look awful...”

“I don't wanna talk about it dude,” Ryuji said. He flinched suddenly, flashes of hospital gowns and the smell of sex hitting him and bringing the shaking from before back. “I can't tell you anyway.”

“Bullshit, Ryuji.” Akira pushed himself off the wall and walked over to stand directly in front of Ryuji. “You can tell me. I can help. I want to help you.” Ryuji shook his head from side to side and began pulling his legs back up to his chest.

“No. I can't tell you. I'm really really sorry, dude, but I...I can't tell you,” he said. “I won't let you be ruined like I was. If you try and help me that's exactly what's gonna happen to you.” A hand settled onto his shoulder, making him jump and jerk away from the touch immediately. “Shit man I'm sorry, I didn't mean to jerk away like that.”

“It's fine. I just want you to trust me. But I can't help you if you won't trust me with this. I want to help you, I really do Ryuyu.” Ryuji's mouth opened to answer him but closed quickly. He continued to flap his jaw a few times before making a confused sound in the back of his throat. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, it's just...that's the nickname Go-chan has for me,” Ryuji chuckled. “You were calling me Ryuryu before. Did you meet up with him or something?” Akira snorted and pushed his glasses back up his nose a little further. The light shined on the lens and successfully hid the gleam in his eyes that would have given him away.

“Nah. Just thought Ryuyu sounded better. But don't change the subject on me. I want to know who's doing this to you, and I'm not dropping the conversation until I get a proper answer,” he hummed. Ryuji's face twisted up in pain and anguish at that, and he scoffed.

“Then get ready to be disappointed,” he said, looking off to the side in frustration. That...bastard...threatened to push his reputation even further into the crapper if he opened his mouth about what was going on. Even if he already felt he could trust Akira with his life, this was something he just couldn't bring himself to reveal. Just the thought of the whole school knowing what he had been doing, what had happened to him and the stupid-

“Hey. You okay? You're making a nasty face right now,” Akira said. Ryuji snapped out of his stupor and straightened back up against the wall behind him. “I really wish you would trust me with this, Ryuyu. I mean that. I can help, if you'll just tell me who's doing this to you.”

“You can't do anything about this, Aki-chan. You're just a student like me. You can't do anything against-” Ryuji's lips pursed and cut himself off to avoid saying something he really shouldn't. After a moment he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck gently. “Forget I said anything dude.”

“You don't need to say anything else about it. I already figured out whoever is doing this is probably a teacher. I just don't know which one. I just need you to give me a name,” Akira said. He set his hand back onto Ryuji's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “So please tell me?”

“...Look man. I'm sorry. I can't say anything about it,” Ryuji whispered. “If you're really serious about helping me out then more power to you. Just...please. Let's drop the subject. I'm beggin' ya here.” Akira slowly pulled his hand away and gave Ryuji a subtle, pitying look. “I'm gonna go for some ramen. You can come along if you want, I guess.” Akira shook his head and kicked down at the ground absently.

“Nah. I've got other stuff to do. Sorry,” he said. Ryuji nodded and slid down off of the air conditioner to hurry off down the street. Akira watched him walk off with a heavy heard. He barely managed to keep from swinging at the nearby wall in anger. He had a death grip as he returned to Leblanc, hoping mindless busywork at the cafe would help him feel better and distract him from his emotions.

He got dragged into making curry by Sojiro and decided to throw himself bodily into his work. He didn't want to think about the way Ryuji had shuffled down the hallway, the way he apologized for flinching away like he would have been hit for it-

“Hey. Kid. You okay?” Sojiro asked suddenly. The cafe had died down, the only patrons left the elderly couple that sometimes came for their monthly dates. Akira sighed and shook his head in answer while refusing to make eye contact with Sojiro.

“Not really, no. Honestly I'm far from okay but it's...not something I really wanna talk about. If that's okay with you.” Sojiro seemed to contemplate what exactly his next move should be. Eventually he settled on shrugging and patting Akira's back gently.

“By the way, have you heard from your parents? They haven't called to ask about you, so I figured they were...” Sojiro watched Akira's face drop his head drop back down to stare at the wall in front of him. “...Kid?”

“They haven't called,” he finally answered. Sojiro had to strain to hear him, and even took a couple of seconds to process what exactly Akira had said. By the time he did Akira had continued speaking. “After I was arrested they backed off pretty quickly. Stopped asking about me and just kinda...distanced themselves from me. I'm pretty sure if either of them called me at this point my heart would stop. Don't really blame them, either.” He took a little longer to get back to what he was doing than what he would have liked. “Before you start to ask, no, that is not what has me upset.” He expected Sojiro to snap at him for being so curt and braced himself for a good tongue lashing. Instead Sojiro set a hand on his shoulder, just as Akira had done to Ryuji earlier that day, and squeezed.

“Go ahead upstairs then. I don't want you burning yourself because you're not okay and trying to cook for me,” he said. When Akira looked like he wanted to argue Sojiro tilted his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Akira got the message immediately and ducked his head back down before pulling his apron off and handing it over to Sojiro. He hurried off upstairs for the night and decided to work out for a little bit and keep himself busy. He wasn't ready to sleep yet. He was scared he would start thinking about Ryuji again if he did.

Tuesday passed by quickly. Ryuji seemed leagues better than he did the day before. He was laughing and cracking jokes with Akira in their chat. They made plans to stop by Ryuji's favorite ramen shop after school and then head off to Leblanc to play games after that. Mishima telling him that Kamoshida wanted to talk in his office caught Akira off guard though.

Kamoshida was waiting for him in front of his office, and when he saw Akira he calmly opened the door and ushered him inside. The door shut behind them with and Kamoshida leaned against it calmly.

“I've noticed you hanging around Sakamoto a lot,” he said. Akira backed up to lean against the corner of Kamoshida's desk and crossed one leg absently in front of the other. He dropped his bag onto the desk beside him and set both hands on his thighs.

“Well he's my friend. Of course I would spend time with him,” Akira said, face impassive and unreadable. Between his parents constantly trying to pry into his private life and the police back home questioning every student in school after a teacher was stabbed in a back alley he had perfected his poker face long ago.

The frustration was evident in Kamoshida's face at this. He expected Akira to start panicking, fidgeting and looking everywhere but at him. Not keep a steady gaze and relaxed posture in his fucking office. Kamoshida decided to chalk it up to Akira being new and not knowing just how much damage he could do if he really wanted to.

“You've been distracting him during track practice. He's the manager, after all. He needs to pay attention to what's going on then. Not some punk with a criminal record,” he said. Akira shifted slightly on the desk to make himself more comfortable, and before he could stop himself Kamoshida's eyes dragged across his thighs for a long while before flicking back up to Akira's face. If he'd noticed Kamoshida's leering gaze he pretended not to. Instead he decided to respond to Kamoshida's claims.

“I don't keep him from going to practice though. He won't hang out with me unless he's completely free,” Akira argued. Something flashed in Kamoshida's eyes then, the obvious lust he'd had in them before gone and replaced by something Akira could absolutely pin down as jealousy. Strange, coming from a teacher...

“He's got his head in the clouds because of you. He won't shut up, you're all he talks about during practice. It bothers the other boys and keeps them from focusing,” Kamoshida said. “It annoys the team, and if they're annoyed they can't focus.” Akira pulled his glasses off to clean them calmly, showing Kamoshida just how little he actually cared about what he was being told.

“I still don't see how this is my fault though,” he said. “I don't really feel I've done anything wrong. They can tune him out after all, right?” Kamoshida's hands flexed, squeezing his biceps in anger and trying to keep his hands from reaching out and strangling the little punk sitting in front of him. Instead he took a deep, slow breath to calm himself down. And then a wicked thought crossed Kamoshida's mind, and he grinned wickedly on the inside.

“You know, Kurusu...Sakamoto has been limping a lot lately. I don't suppose you would have anything to do with that, would you?” he asked. A touch of concern filtered into his voice, faking real and genuine concern for the blond.

Akira, of course, could see through the bullshit from a mile away, and had every intention of calling him out for it. He was beginning to grow suspicious of Kamoshida, and with good reason he felt. The jealousy from before had been so painfully obvious, and the fact that he was suddenly trying to pin the abuse on Akira screamed 'red flag. He wanted to make absolutely sure though, to avoid any wrong murders and poorly timed coincidences.

“No. But I have noticed myself. It's been going on since before I got here, apparently. Last week something happened to him, and when I saw him at lunch he looked like he was on the verge of sensory overload. It's really worrying,” he says, finally showing some form emotion and letting his brows furrow in actual, true concern. “I think someone may be taking advantage of him.”

“Well you're the only new element that's been added recently, Kurusu. I would watch my words if I were you,” Kamoshida said. Something shined in his eyes, and Akira damn near jumped out of his skin. That look of absolute confidence and smugness could only be attributed to feeling completely and utterly out of Akira's reach.

Honestly it pissed him off. But two could play this game, and it was a game he had missed. The chance to confront his prey in person felt so empowering, and when one of them seemed to know the rules already it only made things better for him. It was never any fun if he couldn't get a rise out of his target.

“I guess I should be careful who I bring this up to then. If the person doing it thinks I know who it is, they might consider me a threat and try to silence me. Or even try to push the blame onto me so they don't get caught,” he purred. This time he couldn't stop the grin that spread on his face, one that told Kamoshida he knew everything and that he was in deep, deep shit.

To his credit Kamoshida barely reacted; his tensing ever so slightly, straightening his back and taking a sharp breath being the only things to give him away. His eyes narrowed at Akira and his hands dropped down to his sides.

“Keep talking like that and you may turn out to be right,” he snapped. He watched the grin spread even more, almost like it split Akira's face in half, and his stomach dropped. He'd said too much...but maybe he could salvage this. “Get out of my office, Kurusu. Sakamoto will be coming in here shortly for his punishment. He slacked off last week during Thursday's practice.” Now he didn't even try to hide it. He knew Akira had him pinned, but what could the kid do? That's all he was; a punk kid who thought he could intimidate a teacher, an Olympic medalist to top it off, just by being coy and batting those pretty black eyes at him.

Akira ducked out of the office, taking a few moments to school his features and bring back what could only be described as his resting bitch face before pulling his phone out to message Akechi.

_Bingo. Found the guy._

He didn't even completely get his phone back into his pocket before it vibrated with a new message.

_Who?_

_P.E teacher. Kamoshida Suguru. He called me into his office and slipped up. By the end he didn't even care that he was basically spilling everything to me. He thinks I can't do anything. But I need some more concrete evidence._

He could always try and get in touch with Alibaba, of course...they could find anything they wanted to or needed to. All Akira had to do was give them a name, and a few hours later he would have everything he ever wanted to know and more about his target. But he and Akechi had been working well so far, and he wanted to see just how much they could do without outside help.

_I'll look around and see what I can find. If there's anything you can do on your end, that would make things easier. We'll meet up Saturday to plan the deed. Same place as last time._

_Will do. Looking forward to working with you._

He wanted to double back and listen in on Kamoshida and Ryuji, but he saw Mishima in the throng of students leaving and that caught Akira's attention. For a brief moment he and Akira locked eyes, and that was enough to send Mishima scurrying off outside and through the gates onto the streets. Akira followed after him with ease, more than used to running around with double his body weight tossed onto his back in literal dead weight. When he caught Mishima he backed him into a corner down a dark alley and glared.

“You know exactly what Kamoshida is doing to Ryuji, don't you?” he hissed, venom in his voice and eyes flaring to life with pure, unadulterated anger. Mishima squeaked, crouching down and trying to make himself smaller in defense of the sudden intimidation Akira had begun to ooze. Real tears welled up in his eyes as he fought to answer.

“I-I-I don't ha-have a cho-choice, he-” A surprisingly strong hand suddenly squeezed Akira's left shoulder and pulled him back with surprising force, startling him and making him almost fall onto his ass. Akira didn't recognize the boy who pulled him off of Mishima, and a quick glance told him the reason was because the newcomer didn't go to Shujin. Mishima threw himself into the boy's side under his arm and began crying.

“Is this that blackmailing pervert you mentioned before?” the stranger asked, voice soft but surprisingly deep given his lanky stature. There was ice in his eyes and a tightness to his body that suggested he wouldn't necessarily be above resorting to violence to defend Mishima.

“N-no that's not Ka-Kamoshida,” Mishima said, gripping the front of the boy's shirt tightly. “Do-don't hurt him Yusuke. Pl-please.” Yusuke looked down at Mishima, who had started to sob silently into his shoulder, and calmly reached up to rub a hand through thin blue strands. It seemed to do the trick, and Mishima went from full-body shaking to keeping a gentle but firm grip on the front of Yusuke's shirt.

“...Blackmailing...did Kamoshida catch the two of you together or something?” Akira asked as he straightened himself back up.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Yusuke answered. Mishima had obviously devolved into a state of muteness. “He managed to get a picture of the two of us kissing, and is using it to blackmail Yuuki into silence with threats of releasing the photo around the school.”

“You don't have to worry about things much longer. I promise you,” Akira said. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you the way I did, Mishima. I just...overreacted. To figuring out what Kamoshida has been doing to Ryuji. You gonna be okay?” Mishima nodded slowly in answer and finally managed to look up at Akira. There was still fear evident in his eyes, but it seemed that having Yusuke hold him reassuringly seemed to be doing wonders for him. Akira smiled warmly at him, and that seemed to dispel the last bit of apprehension. “I just...need a little more evidence. And then Kamoshida will go down.”

“You...the police...the school will be in a lot of trouble,” Mishima whispered, hiccuping softly and wiping at his eyes.

“They'll never know it was me that tipped them off,” Akira said. “And then you'll never have to worry about Kamoshida again. You have my word.” Mishima nodded slowly and sniffled quietly. “I'll leave the two of you alone now. I hope I didn't ruin your day.” Yusuke turned to press a soft kiss to Mishima's forehead and rubbed a thumb slowly across his cheek.

“He'll be fine soon enough. My apologies for being rough with you, but I saw you pushing Yuuki into a corner and grew concerned,” Yusuke said.

“It's fine. I would have done the same thing. I should be hurrying home soon, so...bye.” Akira waved weakly before turning and hurrying off down the alleyway to leave the two of them alone. He needed to try and get the warehouse set up for the confession next week, and he needed to start working on what exactly he would write for the calling card. The next week would be hectic for him, and he wouldn't even be able to take care of everything himself. He had Akechi to keep in contact with.

Thinking of Akechi made his mind flash back to Saturday and just how wonderful Akechi felt inside him. How good it felt to have that hand pushed against his throat cutting off his air flow and leaving a wonderfully painful bruise that Akira could still feel if he pressed against it. Only an idiot would have missed the tension blossoming between the two of them since they happened to stumble across each other while dumping bodies one night.

Akechi had been caught red-handed, no mask to cover his face and hide who he was. Akira ended up finding himself face to face with the barrel of Akechi's pistol for the first time and discovered a very interesting side effect of being threatened that way.

Without thinking he'd licked the barrel, a seductive smirk on his face, and teased Akechi about trying to keep his reputation clean by taking matters into his own hands. This stunned the brunette long enough to let Akira sidestep the gun and very carefully push Akechi's arm down to lower it. And then, in what could only be described as a stupid, arrogant decision, Akira had removed his mask and popped the red contacts out of his eyes to properly introduce himself.

Later he would argue with himself that he did this to keep himself alive and out of jail by giving Akechi blackmail material to use on him. He understood completely that he could kill Akechi, but honestly he admired Crow for the work he had been doing and just how quickly he struck. So they worked out a tentative agreement to cover for each other if the need ever arose and hoped that neither of them would screw the other over.

They kept running across each other 'purely by accident' (Akira wasn't stupid, he knew Akechi was following him) and it always seemed to be in some sort of incriminating position, situation, or conversation. Eventually Akira made another stupid decision and had asked for Akechi's number to keep in touch with him. And possibly provide an alibi, if the need ever arose.

When Akira would see Akechi on T.V he couldn't help but stare at him. Akechi was unfairly beautiful, with that soft brown hair and those deep red eyes and that beautiful pale skin...Akira had been lucky enough to see Akechi without his gloves on and he had the most beautiful hands. The few times he had seen Akechi without his coat Akira couldn't help but notice the wonderful, subtle curves under the button up shirt he always seemed to wear.

He almost thought that maybe the tension between them had only been one-sided until Saturday when Akechi had thrown a leg calmly up into his lap and let Akira's hand stay on his calf. His suspicions were proved even more on the mark when Akechi had grabbed at his thigh and started whispering into his ear. He had half expected Akechi to start biting at his ear or something before they'd left for the hotel.

The jingle of the bell inside Leblanc hit the breaks on that train of thought and pulled him back to the present. Sojiro looked up from where he stood behind the counter with an oddly pensive look on his face. For a moment Akira thought he might say something but then Sojiro turned and ducked back into the tiny kitchen out of sight, leaving Akira to trudge off upstairs and try to get some of his homework done.

Just as he'd decided to take a break his phone chimed with a text message. He perked up a little when he saw it was from Ryuji.

_We can't be friends anymore._

This caught Akira off guard and confused him until he remembered what Kamoshida had said. That Ryuji was coming into his office for 'punishment.' He could only imagine what that pervert had done to Ryuji; he also guessed Kamoshida had warned Ryuji to stay away from him if the message the just received was anything to go by.

_Don't let Kamoshida bully you. I know it's him. I've almost got enough to go to the police._

_I don't care dude. We can't be friends. I'm sorry._

Akira growled and resisted the urge to throw his phone. That wouldn't get anything done, he knew it, but goddammit this was pissing him off.

_Ryuyu come on. Seriously. You're not actually gonna listen to him are you?_

He waited for a reply for a long while, leg bouncing nervously under the table, but when five minutes had passed and he received none he thunked his head against his desk with a groan. Goddammit. He needed to get this dealt with now.

His eyes drifted over to the box tucked beneath his bed with Joker in it, and his fingers twitched a little bit. He could go ahead and lay the calling card now, deal with Kamoshida tonight, and be done by morning. But he didn't really have any concrete evidence. Just speculations and what-ifs. As much as it pissed Akira off, he couldn't do anything if he wasn't absolutely positive Kamoshida was behind the abuse. He fought down the urge, instead turning back to focus on his homework. No sense letting his grades slip and ending up in even more trouble than he was already in.

The next morning Akira had to forcibly drag himself out of bed for the first time in long time to get ready for school. He felt defeated, angry, frustrated, just about every negative emotion under the sun. Akechi hadn't messaged him with any new leads and Ryuji was refusing to answer any of Akira's messages. When he walked into school a few of the first years jumped back out of his way. It took him a few moments to realize it was a result of the pissed off look he had on his face.

He was almost to class when he saw Ryuji trudging off towards Kamoshida's office again. Akira made a quick split-second decision and decided to follow after him. He hadn't stuck around to listen in on Kamoshida yesterday, and he would be damned if he missed this opportunity. 

When the door shut Akira very carefully knelt down and pressed his ear to the door. After a few seconds of nothing, he wondered if perhaps he had guessed wrong and if maybe he should stop worrying about this. And then he heard Ryuji clear as day.

“M-Master that really isn't...isn't necessary.” Akira's heart thudded in his chest. It was almost loud enough to drown out the sounds of their voices until he managed to get it back under control. “Please I'm sorry, I promised I'd stay away and-”

“I think you need to be reminded of your place, pet.” There was the sound of shuffling and Ryuji pleading more and then Kamoshida growling, right by the door and plain as day, “Maybe I should make you watch your graduation video again. That should get the point across well enough.”

“N-no! No please no! Master I'm sorry, I-” Ryuji suddenly choked, and Akira knew Kamoshida had a hand on his throat. They moved away from the door and a chair scraped across the ground to what he figured was the center of the room. Kamoshida huffed as if he threw himself down in the chair. Ryuji let out a choked sob and Akira heard Kamoshida grunt at him to shut up and watch.

The audio sounded tinny, obviously played on a shitty computer's speakers and a little bit hard to hear for Akira. He pushed his ear a little harder to the door and began breathing shallowly in an attempt to kill any external noise he could.

At first he could only just make out Kamoshida talking to Ryuji and mentioning his father had run off already. He asked how Ryuji planned on paying for his hospital bills, how he planned on surviving now that he was on his own and had a busted leg he wouldn't be able to walk on for months without either of his parents in the picture. The volume of their conversation dropped down below what Akira could hear, and then suddenly picked back up with Ryuji's voice cutting through.

“H-hey what are you-no! No stop!” Akira's eyes widened at hearing Ryuji beg; he flinched away at the obvious sound of someone being slapped. He expected to hear Kamoshida yell at Ryuji to behave, but instead he heard Ryuji sobbing quietly. After a few more quiet sounds Akira realized the sobbing wasn't coming from the video but the Ryuji sitting in Kamoshida's office, being forced to watch this all over again and reliving awful memories.

Akira tried to power through it and listen more but his stomach curled painfully in disgust. He pulled away from the door and stumbled off to the restroom to lose the curry he had for breakfast that morning. The tears in his eyes weren't even entirely from the burn of stomach acid against his throat or in his nose.

When he stepped back out into the hallway he wiped at his eyes and hoped the cold water had done enough to get rid of the redness in them. He didn't want anyone knowing he'd been crying. That could raise questions, and Akira didn't feel he could answer any of them without breaking. This time, when he saw Ryuji limping off back to class, he ran over to throw an arm over his shoulder to carry him.

“Let me go, Kurusu.” Akira flinched back like someone had burned him at hearing Ryuji call him that. He'd gotten so used to hearing Aki-chan in that cute, excited voice of his. The defeat in Ryuji's eyes made Akira pull him in for a tight and obviously much-needed hug.

“I'm so sorry Ryuyu. Kamoshida won't be bothering you for much longer. I don't care if you say we can't be friends anymore, I won't let that happen! He won't hurt you again, I promise.” The tears began pouring again and soaked into Ryuji's uniform shirt. His grip turned painfully tight, partly to help calm himself down and partly to keep Ryuji from running away. The blond relaxed into Akira's grip, and for a brief moment he wondered if maybe Ryuji was giving in. Instead he pushed Akira away again gently.

“I'm sorry dude. You can't do anything to him. It's...it's not safe. Just leave me alone.” He swatted the hand that came up to touch the side of his face and began hobbling off towards his classroom slowly. The limp in his gait was even worse than usual. Akira wasn't sure if it was from the strain on his leg or...

He killed that thought real damn quick. Instead he forced himself off to his own classroom, thankful that Kawakami was in the classroom instead of one of the other less understanding teachers. Instead of reprimanding him she took one look at him, seemed to understand something had happened, and told him to just sit down and pay attention.

Either she didn't notice or she didn't care, because Akira wasn't even remotely subtle as he pulled his phone out.

_No doubt about it. It's Kamoshida. I wasn't completely sure but what I just heard made me fucking sick. This shit started back in the fucking hospital. He's got a fucking video of it and I heard it in his office. He made Ryuji watch it and I wouldn't be surprised if he fucked Ryuji through it. He needs to go down. Now._

_God...Kurusu...I don't want to believe you, but I feel you wouldn't make this accusation lightly. Can you deal with him tonight?_

_No, I can't. I'm swamped with homework, and I don't even have the calling card written up. I don't think I'll be able to do it until next week. I hate this though. He'll be stuck at Kamoshida's mercy until I can get free. Ryuji will also need an alibi._

_Since we had already planned to meet up Saturday, I can help you out with this. I want him gone just as much as you do._

_I'm guessing the reason you aren't offering to meet up tonight is because you're busy all week too?_

_Guest appearances and school work on my end, unfortunately. Do what you can to keep Ryuyu safe for me. We'll do away with the formalities and meet at the hotel this time._

Akira shoved his phone back into his pocket violently and leaned back in his seat hard enough to make it scrape across the floor half an inch. When Kawakami's head snapped over to him he muttered a quick apology and bowed his head gently. He hadn't intended on getting anyone's attention. He was just so fucking angry right now. At the way Kamoshida was abusing Ryuji, at just how compliant Ryuji was in all of this. He wanted to break down and cry in frustration but the fact that he was in class kept him steady.

Saturday couldn't come fast enough, he decided.

When it finally did, and the sun had gone down already, he pulled his hoodie on and hurried down out of Leblanc. He told Sojiro as he ran past that he would probably be staying out late and not to wait up for him. He thought he could hear Sojiro start to say something to him but the door shut and he took off down the street to put as much distance between himself and the cafe as he could. He didn't need any distractions right now.

He barely made it off the train in Shinjuku before a hand grabbed at his wrist to pull him off somewhere. He almost jerked his hand away and swung in defense before he caught sight of familiar red eyes turning back to look at him. There was a sense of urgency in them, and Akira couldn't honestly blame him. Ryuji was in danger, and they didn't have time to fuck around right now.

Once they were in the room Akechi threw Akira down onto the bed and flopped out onto it beside him. Tears welled in his eyes; he threw an arm over his face to hide them from Akira.

“Ryuyu...we have to hurry. We can't wait any longer. How quickly can you move?” he asked, struggling to keep his voice level and finally pulling his arm away to look over at Akira.

“I finish prep by tomorrow evening and have him dead by midnight on Monday,” Akira answered calmly. “As much as I would love to do it tonight I don't feel I have the energy for it. This whole week has been hell for me. I've been trying to find time to work on the damn calling card but I haven't had the chance. Everything else is ready for him.” He decided he may as well lay down beside Akechi, biting back a groan at the slight pain that shot up from his lower back and down from his shoulders. He'd barely had a chance to relax since Monday.

“Well...since I'm here, why don't I offer my help with that?” Akechi rolled over onto his side and propped his head up in his hand. “I told you, I wanted to help you with this. Kamoshida...Ryuyu's been my best friend since we were little. I can't just sit by and do nothing.” Akira hummed in thought and forced himself over onto his side as well to meet Akechi's gaze and sighed.

“Yeah. I could definitely use your help with that. I even brought a notebook for it,” he said and tilted his chin towards the bag he had set down by the doorway. “...But I have a feeling you brought me here specifically for something else.” Akechi laughed, a soft laugh that Akira realizes he hasn't ever heard because this is a private laugh, and calmly slid up into Akira's lap. His hands dropped down to brace himself, and a gentle but coy smile flitted up to Akechi's lips.

“You caught me red-handed, Kurusu. This entire week has been just as awful for me as it has been for you. Last Saturday was...pleasant. I definitely enjoyed it, and hoped that perhaps we could do that again?” he asked, hips rolling down to get his point across in case his words hadn't done their job. Akira hissed quietly and grabbed at Akechi's ass again to squeeze it.

“I think I can agree to that...a little stress relief would probably do us both good before we start working on the calling card,” he purred. Their lips crashed together painfully, their teeth clacking and hands going everywhere they could to get rid of their clothing as quickly as possible.

 

Akechi rolled over slowly, not wanting to wake Akira up out of courtesy, and carefully reached down to his pants beside the bed for his phone. He made sure to silence it before sending Ryuji a message.

_Would you be up for a celebratory dinner on Monday? I know it's an important date for you._

He expected Ryuji to be asleep, as a quick glance at his phone's clock told him it was near one in the morning, but he received a reply almost immediately.

_Yeah, that's a great idea actually. You sure it's okay?_

_I'm certain, Ryuyu. I'll pick you up after school. We can head to the arcade first._

_You? Arcade? HA. You sure it's you Go-chan?_

He almost decided to snap a selfie and send it to Ryuji to prove it, but the marks all along his neck and shoulders would raise questions.

_I can be a normal teenager when I want to be. I want to have fun on Monday. For your mother._

_...Thanks, Go-chan. I'll be lookin' forward to it._

He set his phone down on the beside table and carefully laid back down to get some more sleep. Almost immediately Akira's arm snaked forward to wrap around his waist and pull him back to cuddle. Akechi tensed, not quite sure whether or not he was really comfortable with this, before he finally gave in and finally let his muscles relax enough to drift off to sleep.

 

Monday brought dread with it. Ryuji's leg still hadn't completely recovered from his 'punishment,' unfortunately. He expected Kamoshida to want to see him again before school to drive the point home that he needed to stay the hell away from Akira.

He didn't expect to hear the entire student body chattering away about a goddamn calling card.

“Did you see it!? It's all over the cork board in the main hallway!”

“What is it talking about? Do you think it's legit?”

“I'm suddenly scared! Why is Joker targeting someone in this school!?”

Ryuji fought his way through the thick crowd towards the cork board in question; when he broke to the front and finally got a proper look his eyes widened in shock. Tacked all over the board were various joker playing cards and thick red stock cards, all done in the same style of cut-out letters pasted neatly to spell out their threatening message.

**Corrupt Olympian, like mighty Zeus your travesties shall be known throughout the world after this eve. No longer shall you spill the blood of an innocent lamb; the sword of judgment shall strike you down before morning comes. Prepare to confess your crimes with your own damned voice and fall into the depths of the Underworld itself.**

Ryuji's eyes widened in shock, his heart sinking down to his feet in fear. There could only be one person these calling cards could be referring to, and the other students seemed to finally be catching on.

“Kamoshida...what has Kamoshida been doing? Why would Joker go after him!?”

“Kamoshida's not a bad person! Joker's got it wrong!”

“What the hell is everyone standing around talking about? Get to-” Kamoshida shoved Ryuji off to the side as he yelled, his voice catching in his throat at the sight of the calling cards. He snatched one down off the board and read it with shaking hands and sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. His lips pulled back into a snarl as he crushed the card in his hands, turning immediately to Ryuji, who jerked back at the intensity of the stare. He didn't need to be told; he already knew Kamoshida expected Ryuji in his office now.

He carefully pushed his way through the crowd and down the hallway, heart beating heavy in his throat and making it hard to breathe. He had to stop and brace himself against a wall to calm down enough to avoid either a panic attack or passing out. When he finally made it up to the office he sat down in front of the door to wait patiently. It gave him enough time to calm down before Kamoshida appeared to drag him inside and slam him up against the door.

“Did you have something to do with those fucking calling cards!? Who did you tell!?” he yelled. Ryuji's head shook violently from side to side fast enough to risk whiplash.

“N-no! I swear, I didn't have anything to do with them! I swear it, man! You think I could come up with somethin' like that!? I'm too stupid! And I didn't tell anyone either! C'mon, believe me!” he said, shaking violently and trying not to cry. Kamoshida got off on Ryuji crying, and he couldn't stomach the thought of that happening because of it.

“You'd better not be lying to me. If I find out you are I'll fuck you up and put you back in a wheelchair again, you little punk.” He bounced Ryuji's head against his door and backed away from him as he slid down to the floor and clutched the knot already beginning to form. “Now get the hell out of my office.”

“Y-yes sir,” Ryuji whimpered, forcing himself up to his feet and fumbling with the door trying to get it open. When he made it out into the hallway he turned the corner and bumped into someone's chest. The last person in the world he wanted to see stood in front of him and reached a hand out to steady him before he fell back.

“Hey, you okay?” Akira asked quietly. “You're holding the back of your head...did you hit it on something?”

“Stay away from me Kurusu,” Ryuji snapped, immediately jerking away and shoving Akira back a few steps. He pushed past and further on down the hallway towards his class.

“Hey Ryuyu, I-”

“STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, KURUSU!” Akira stopped dead in his tracks to stare at Ryuji in shock and hurt as the blond turned and broke into a run down the empty hallway. For a split second Akira thought he'd seen tears welling up in Ryuji's eyes, but he couldn't be too sure. Akira's shoulders dropped, and his mouth fell closed on a few last words. His right hand squeezed tight, fingernails biting into his skin and threatening to draw blood. His teeth ground together painfully at the rage starting to well up.

Fuck Kamoshida. Fuck that perverted, selfish, narcissistic prick who had destroyed one of Akira's only friends. He couldn't wait to have that rotten bastard's confessions on video. He couldn't wait to have his friend back.

When the final bell for school went off Ryuji jumped. He realized that a good chunk of his day had disappeared, and he'd only just come back to himself. He almost considered just going home and crawling into bed for the rest of the day before he remembered he had plans with Akechi that night. It seemed to put a little bit more of a spring in his step, sending him running outside as best as his pained leg would carry him. Sure enough he saw Akechi standing just outside the gates, a bright smile on his face and a throng of fangirls crowding around him.

Ryuji skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs leading down towards the gate, the smile on his own face dropping. He decided to make himself scarce and avoid drawing attention to himself as he tried to slip past. He missed the moment Akechi saw him, which meant he missed the moment that smile of his brightened up even more.

“Ryuyu! Are you ready to head to the arcade?” he called out, carefully pushing the fangirls away to get to Ryuji and pull him in for a hug. “I apologize for the screaming, perhaps we should hurry and leave.”

“Go-chan, wha-” He didn't get the chance to prod any further, as Akechi had taken his hand to start pulling him along down the street and away from the screaming fans trying to claw Ryuji away from him. He had expected Akechi to keep things subtle and under the radar, not for him to grab Ryuji in full view of most of the girls at Shujin and even use his nickname. It was a pleasant surprise, admittedly.

Just coming out of the front doors to Shujin and crushing yet another calling card in his hands was Kamoshida, who had just caught sight of Ryuji getting dragged off by none other than Akechi Goro, student detective and potential thorn in his side. Once this 'stunt' finished dying down and it had been proved nothing more than sick joke, Kamoshida had every intention of beating Ryuji until he was the one confessing to what he did. And then he would go after that pretty boy Akechi and make sure he kept his fucking mouth shut too.

He wasn't as gentle as Akechi had been when he began pushing the still-screaming girls out of his way to get home. His head was beginning to pound from the shrill tones around him, and apparently it showed in his face if the screaming dying down almost immediately was anything to go by. 

His confidence in his own personal safety meant he felt completely fine walking home down a few back alleys for a shortcut (his car had been having problems the night before, he wasn't stupid enough to drive it to school and risk something happening to it on his way to the school) and even stopping to pet a stray cat that brushed against his leg.

The cat, Joker decided, had been a perfect distraction, as it gave him the best chance to knock Kamoshida out with a quick, strong blow to the side of his head. This scared the poor cat, who immediately took off down the alleyway with a loud yowl and the scratching of claws on concrete. Akira dropped the broken corner of brick he had picked up and bent down to haul Kamoshida up onto his back.

He sent a quick message to Akechi before taking off down the alleyway towards his warehouse, blood thumping in excitement and anticipation at the chance to have another victim under his skillful hands.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm sorry. I feel awful. I hyped up the torture for the confession and then...belatedly realized writing torture is *hard.* So uhhhhh...I'm afraid it's gonna have to wait a week. But it's okay! We were wondering how to make things with Akechi and Ryuji work and then we got the idea for this chapter LOL. It was originally a lot shorter, but we decided to flesh it out and shit. So yeah. That's a thing. I'll only be able to check comments once today before I'm gone all weekend, so don't expect any replies or anything from me personally until Monday. My co-author may say a few things in my absence. <3 I genuinely feel bad but I don't wanna disappoint with Kamoshida. I really hope you guys understand. Also, another profile was added at the end of the chapter~  
> Also: Happy birthday Akechi~! This date's for you!

“Ryuyu...I wanted to properly apologize to you for those rabid fangirls earlier. The screaming must have been awful for you,” Akechi said, a gentle and serene smile on his face. Ryuji pushed further into Akechi's side as more people piled onto the trains around them. Thankfully the trip wouldn't be long; Ryuji hated people shoving into him like this.

And honestly, Ryuji...did feel a little awkward about it. He swore he could still feel fake nails digging into his skin trying to claw him away from Akechi and screaming about how trash like him shouldn't be able to touch someone as pure and wonderful as Akechi. He wouldn't be able to avoid the nasty looks or the awful insults they'd throw at him, and he hated that thought. But...Akechi had seemed so genuinely excited to see Ryuji again. And today was already a somber enough day. He didn't want to make it worse. Instead he plastered on a bright smile for Akechi.

“Nah, I didn't mind. You uhhh...you sure you're okay with it though? I mean, the rumors-” Akechi quickly held a hand up to silence Ryuji. The smile never left his face, and almost seemed to grow brighter.

“I don't mind, Ryuyu. You're my friend. It isn't fair to pretend like we aren't,” he said. His smile dropped a bit, only really noticeable to anyone who seriously looking for it. Like Ryuji, whose eyes darted down to the floor between his feet. “Especially not today of all days.”

“Yeah. You're right. Thanks for this by the way. I uhhhh...I wasn't sure what I'd do about today, honestly. Mostly just planned on stayin' home and cookin' something for her. Maybe get a piece of cheesecake to boot,” Ryuji admitted quietly. The conversation lulled between them, neither one sure how to continue without dragging the mood down further.

Today marked the one year anniversary of Ryuji's mother's death. She had fallen down the stairs in her home one day. Her coworkers had mentioned that she seemed more tired than usual the past few days before her death. Ryuji had been worried sick over her and just how busy she had been lately. Apparently the tiredness had been enough to end her; the coroner said she'd slipped and fallen down the stairs and showed signs of extreme exhaustion.

Akechi knew for damn certain that this wasn't the case. He would bet half his savings that Ryuji's father had a hand in her death, especially with him skipping town almost immediately after her funeral. He remembered just how violent the bastard had been with Ryuji, and could only assume he had been same way with his wife. Akechi had read through the official police report and noticed that he had claimed to be at the bar on the other side of the city when she'd fallen. A couple of drunkards had backed him up, but Akechi couldn't be sure of their credibility. They had been drunk, after all.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling him out of his thoughts and back to the present. He fished it out and glanced at the message before opening the chat up.

_I found the perfect gift. How many 'bells and whistles' should I put on it?_

Akechi chuckled softly and quickly sent back a response.

_As many as you can manage. Within reason, of course._

_Good idea. Striped or polka-dotted...?_

_I have a strong preference for stripes. Polka-dots look tacky, honestly._

_Alright. How much ribbon should I use? I want this to look perfect when I'm finished._

_Not too much ribbon. You still want the wrapping paper to show, after all._

The train slowed to a stop just as he pocketed his phone again. The doors slid open after a few seconds, and Akechi made sure to keep a grip on Ryuji's wrist to avoid losing him in the crowd. Once they were on the platform he pulled back and turned to face Ryuji.

“I don't know my way around this place very well, so...I suppose you'll be leading the way?” he asked, laughing softly at just how pitiful that sounded coming from him. He was seventeen now, almost eighteen in fact, and a part of him felt awkward to be lead towards the arcade of all places. But the bright smile that suddenly bloomed on Ryuji's face pushed that feeling off to the side.

“Yeah, sure! Follow me!” He grabbed at Akechi's wrist and began pulling him along, not even really giving him a proper chance to say no and making him burst into light, cheerful laughter. The grip on his wrist felt pleasant, warm and friendly even, and brought back memories of the two of them running around near their homes playing make-believe heroes with pieces of scrap they found laying around until the sun threatened to dip below the horizon. It made him remember all the times they used to go out and run errands for his mother and grabbed what she needed to make dinner for them all. It reminded him of a much simpler time before his mother had killed herself and his father had-

“Go-chan! Hey, Earth to Go-chan!” A hand waved in front of Akechi's face and brought him back again for the second time in less than an hour, making him start back and chuckle softly. Ryuji had pulled them to a stop not far from the exit to the station and down a short alley. “You okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. Just...remembering our childhood, is all,” he said, smile reaching his eyes and almost giving him the appearance of a normal teenager for the first time in a long time. Ryuji mimicked the expression and rubbed the back of his neck a little bit.

“Yeah. Things were great back then, weren't they? Lot simpler than what they are now,” he whispered. Akechi felt his smile drop at that, and he reached out to gently tap Ryuji's shoulder.

“No sadness. You know your mother wouldn't want you miserable today,” he pointed out. “She would want you happy.” Ryuji nodded at that, kicking down at the ground and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Guess you're right. Sorry if I'm not all here, my leg's been killin' me lately. Been walkin' so much lately it's been actin' up a lot,” he said and continued down the street now. Akechi followed behind him, thrilled to have the chance of spending the day with his best friend like this for the first time in a long time. He had admittedly been so caught up in his work as both a rising-star detective and his work as Crow that he hadn't been able to make much time for Ryuji lately. Today, he admitted, was as necessary for himself as it was for Ryuji.

They kept their conversation light and playful, more focused on keeping themselves laughing and distracted from the somber meaning of their time together today. Akechi had meant it when he said they should focus on being happy today, and dammit he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it happened.

When he stepped into the arcade a few heads turned towards him, eyes widening in recognition and shock. Thankfully it seemed the fans of Akechi's that frequented the arcade were much calmer than the fans back at Shujin, as the only thing that came of this was hushed whispers and surprised stares. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Ryuji blush a little bit and duck his head down in what he assumed was embarrassment.

“C'mon. There's somethin' I wanna play with you,” he said, jerking his head and ducking off towards the back of the arcade. Akechi followed after him, taking a few moments to tug at his gloves and pull them more flush to his hands. The two of them came to a stop in front of an old, well-played arcade cabinet.

“...A rail shooter...? Why would you want to play this with me?” he asked, a light laugh under his voice now. Ryuji grinned and thumbed at his nose, suddenly looking like he was proud of himself for bringing Akechi here.

“Me 'nd Kurusu played this a couple days ago. Wanted to see if the two us could beat the high score,” he said. This seemed to spark something in Akechi, a sudden competitive edge taking him over and making an itch settle under his skin. The urge to best Akira at something as benign as an arcade game was strange and definitely not something he was used to. “You in?”

“Of course I am, Ryuyu. I feel we can best his score easily,” he said. The weight of the artificial pistol felt wholly different from the real one he normally kept on his person, but the difference wouldn't prove to be an issue. He moved with quick practiced ease, just as Akira had, and Ryuji almost swore the two of them had done even better than he and Akira had. When the scores flashed across the screen, Akechi had a scowl on his face that caused Ryuji to giggle.

They had tied scores, as it turned out.

“How are both of you so good at this game?” Ryuji asked, arms crossing in front of his chest and hip cocking itself out a bit. “Especially you, Go-chan. I thought you didn't play games?” Akechi shook his head from side to side and shrugged a bit.

“Honestly I'm just as impressed as you are,” he admitted. He opened his mouth to continue the conversation but stopped as something in a nearby crane machine caught his eye. It was a little plush Shiba Inu dressed in a pirate's outfit, complete with a small plush ship underneath its paws.

He moved past Ryuji almost in a trance and over to the crane machine, running a hand over the glass where the plush sat. From what Akechi could see it was the only one left and it absolutely screamed 'Ryuji.' Without thinking he reached into his pocket to pull his wallet out and withdrew a few hundred yen.

“See somethin' ya want, Go-chan?” Ryuji asked, coming over to stand beside him now and lean against the glass. Without answering Akechi fed the machine and rolled his shoulders before his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Ryuji went quiet as he watched Akechi, trying so hard not to laugh at the expression he was making. He really looked like a little kid now trying to get the plush toy. It took a few tries, but soon enough the claws had closed firmly around the plush pup and was now bringing it over drop it where Akechi could grab it. Before he could move Ryuji reached down and fished it out to look at it. “Hey, this thing's actually kinda cute. Here you go.”

“I got that for you, you know,” Akechi said. Ryuji tilted his head slightly in confusion now, almost perfectly mimicking the plush in his hands.

“Huh? Why would you get somethin' like this for me?” he asked. Akechi brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he began laughing. It took a few moments for him to collect himself before he could answer Ryuji.

“Because that plush literally screams you. You're making almost the exact same expression, and your head is tilted almost the exact same way. You're as adorable and loyal as a dog, and it's endearing. Nice, even,” he said. After a moment his eyebrows raised up a bit and he began stammering. “I-I don't mean it as a bad thing! Far from it in fact! I hope you don't think I insulted you in any way.” Ryuji snorted and brought the plush up to stare at its face.

“Nah. I know you don't mean it as a bad thing,” he said, squishing the plush gently in his hands. “Is there any other games you were wanting to play while we were here?”

“Anything you want to, Ryuji. Today is mostly about you after all,” he said as he reached down into his pocket to pull his phone out of his pocket again. He'd gotten another message.

_I took one of the buttons off. I figure it looks better this way honestly._

_Are you sure it won't look strange with just one button on it?_

_It adds character. Anything else you can think of?_

_Are there any jewels on it? I wouldn't leave them on. They might be too flashy if you do._

_Mmmm, I think you're right. There's a giant fake red ruby. I think I'll take that off._

_Ugh, a giant fake ruby? That screams gaudy. Get rid of it._

If Ryuji had turned he would have seen Akechi making a disgusting and frustrated face right then. As it was he had been pulling Akechi around from game to game, trying to get his attention and failing to maintain it as he stared at his phone. Ryuji was beginning to get frustrated when Akechi finally put his phone away down into his pocket and looked back up at him.

“You finally done?” Ryuji asked, a slight edge to his voice that caused Akechi's stomach to do strange things. He had been ignoring Ryuji for the better part of five minutes now, and he felt awful. He had planned to bring Ryuji here for a distraction, not to stay distracted himself.

“Yes. My apologies. I promise, I won't pick it back up until we're done tonight,” he said with a sincerity Ryuji immediately believed. The tension drained out of his shoulders and he laughed softly.

“Alright. You wanna try that shooting game again? See if we can beat mine and Kurusu's scores this time?” he suggested. Akechi immediately jumped at the chance, another excited smile on his lips.

“Absolutely.”

 

Time passed in a blur, the two of them bouncing between arcade cabinets and bumping shoulders with each other every few seconds. Their cheeks hurt and their mouths were dry, but dammit this was the most fun either of them had in ages. They both needed this, for so many reasons that neither one were willing to name off or think about, and the guilt eating at them for their secrets melted away in the happiness their company brought each other.

Ryuji had pulled Akechi to a stop, laughing and trying to catch his breath in a back corner tucked away from the leering gazes of the arcade goers who had recognized Akechi and watched them like hawks. If Ryuji noticed the leers of disgust and anger he seemed to pay them no mind, instead focusing his attention on Akechi and holding the plush Shiba Inu close to his chest. He had been guarding it like his life depended on it since it had been given to him. His smile had stretched up to his eyes and made them squint just a little bit and-

Akechi's phone suddenly went off, a harsh sound that made the both of them jump in surprise and laugh briefly. But the mirth didn't stay, as Ryuji's smile immediately shifted from one of joy to one of sadness.

“Getting called off to work, Go-chan?” he asked. Akechi immediately shook his head in answer and grabbed Ryuji's wrist to begin pulling him off outside of the arcade.

“No, it's the alarm for us to leave,” Akechi answered. “I don't want us to be late for dinner.” Ryuji laughed and jogged a bit to catch up and walk beside Akechi, calmly pulling his hand away to shove it back into his pocket.

“You say that like dinner's goin' somewhere,” he teased. “You never did tell me where we were eatin' at anyway.”

“The answer to that question right now is 'it's a surprise,'” Akechi answered, pulling his wallet out and counting through his money quickly to make sure he still had enough funds for their dinner together. “You'll find out when we get there.”

“I don't like hearing that from you. 'It's a surprise' usually means somethin' that I may not like.” Ryuji noticed the way Akechi refused to make eye contact with him and narrowed his eyes. “Go-chan, what do you have planned?” Immediately Akechi's hands went up in defense as they walked, meandering back towards the train station now.

“I have planned nothing that is as bad as you think it is,” he argued and shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “You're overthinking, Ryuyu. Just focus on enjoying tonight please.” Both of Ryuji's arms curled around the plush to hold it in thought.

“Yeah. I'll try my best,” he said, only vaguely noticing when Akechi pulled his phone out again. A weight settled into Ryuji's chest at this, an uncomfortable push against his heart that brought real, physical pain to him. Akechi promised he wouldn't touch his phone again, and yet he was staring at his screen again. Ryuji started to open his mouth and complain before Akechi flashed him that same bright smile he always had that seemed to melt whatever anxieties Ryuji harbored in his heart away.

“How is your leg? Are you okay to keep walking or do I need to get a taxi for us?” he asked. Ryuji stared at him dumbly, tongue suddenly thick as lead in his mouth, and struggled to come up with a proper answer. Eventually he managed to kick his voice back from the brink and smiled awkwardly.

“It's kinda hurtin' but it's...I'm used to it at this point,” he said. “I can keep walkin' I think.” He didn't want Akechi worrying about him like this. He already felt guilty about Kamoshida and keeping quiet, he didn't need his cru-

Best friend. He didn't need his _best friend_ worrying about him. Nobody needed to worry about him, honestly. He felt his skin had turned black under Kamoshida's touches, inky and rotted with disease. Someone as pure and angelic as Akechi didn't need to risk spreading it, someone as gentle and careful as Akira didn't deserve to have someone as disgusting and broken as Ryuji cling to him like a beacon of hope.

Akira talked so much about helping Ryuji be free of Kamoshida's abuse and pain that a part of him began to believe it possible. He knew it was nothing more than a stupid pipe dream, but even those dreams could become real if one believed hard enough. He wanted to be rid of Kamoshida, finally feel like a somewhat normal teenage boy again instead of somebody's fucking cocksleeve. He wanted to have friends that cared about him and loved him and he wanted to know what love felt like and he wanted his mother back and-

He blinked suddenly, chastising himself for zoning out the way he had. He hated how easily he could get lost in his own thoughts like this. He figured it probably had something to do with the...circumstances...he had been dealing with for the past year, and a sinking feeling settled into his chest as he realized that this wouldn't be stopping anytime soon like he wanted. Like he hoped. Akira could only do so much, could only say 'I'm going to help' so many times before the novelty wore off and reality slapped him in the face.

A sudden thought crawled up into his head, and it made him physically ill. If Akechi found out the things he had been doing and that he had let happen to him, he would be disgusted. Akechi was pristine, put together and perfect; Ryuji was dirty, disjointed and defective. He would never be good enough for Akechi, and he hated it. He would never be good enough for Akira, and he hated it.

“Ryuyu. We're here.” Everything snapped back into focus suddenly at hearing Akechi's voice, surprise settling in at the sudden realization that Akechi had taken them to the more expensive side of town. His stomach dropped and his hand immediately dropped down to his wallet. It felt lighter than Ryuji wished it did. He let himself be lead inside, the plush pressed against his chest to try and ground him enough to keep him from floating off in his thoughts again.

He felt so terribly under-dressed now. He wished Akechi had told him the place they were eating dinner at would be so expensive so he could have used what little money had had left to get a nice suit. That way he wouldn't stand out so much. He also wished they had taken the opportunity to stop by Ryuji's apartment so he could have dropped the plush off. He felt he looked like a stupid kid clinging to Akechi like this.

He kept his head down as Akechi continued to pull him along further into the restaurant. He could feel eyes boring holes into him from every direction judging him for his appearance. The prickling gazes didn't dissipate until they were finally seated, Ryuji still refusing to look up and make eye contact with Akechi. He slid the plush down between his legs in an attempt to hide it.

Today was supposed to be a happy day. A celebration of Ryuji's mother's life. Not...not for him to throw a pity party for himself. He felt like he was dragging the mood down for the both of them. He worried that maybe Akechi would eventually get tired of dealing with his self-deprecating behavior and just ignore him, avoid him and pretend he didn't exist anymore.

The world suddenly became razor-sharp to him. Fear had settled into him, anxiety pushing into his bones right along with it and making him tremble. His heart beat painfully against his chest, and his hands curled into tight fists at the edge of his chair. The wood creaked a little bit under the pressure. His lungs felt like fire, like someone had lit a match in them and let the fire blaze. He could feel tears threatening to roll down his cheeks, and he carefully blinked them back. He couldn't let Akechi know he wasn't okay, he honestly didn't know why he was acting like this suddenly. Kamoshida was his immediate answer, but a part of him understood that wasn't honestly why. But how could he ever admit the real reason to Akechi?

“Ryuyu? Is water okay for you?” His head snapped up, and immediately a bright adorable smile plastered itself on his lips.

“Yeah, that's fine,” he answered. “Ummm...Go-chan, I'm really sorry, but I can't...I can't really afford to pay you back for this. It's so expensive, and I-”

“Ryuyu I'm not expecting you to pay me back for this,” Akechi cut in. “Your mother was just as important to me. Today was as much for me as it was for you. As it was for her. We were always such good friends, and even when we were younger I always promised to take care of you. I intend to keep that promise.” Ryuji snorted and stared down at his hands to pull himself back together. The shaking had subsided, instead replaced by am energetic thrum just under his skin.

“We were kids, Go-chan. Kids say things like that all the time.” He picked at the skin around his fingernails, a nervous habit he had picked up when he was thirteen or fourteen. “Besides. You're famous. I'm honestly the last person you should be hangin' out with. I wouldn't be surprised if you-”

“Please don't continue that sentence,” Akechi said quickly. “Ryuyu, you are my friend. You have been for years. I know there was a period where we stopped talking, and for that I apologize. I didn't have much of a choice at the time. But I always thought of you, and worried about you, and wondered how you were doing. As soon as I was able to get into touch with you I did, and I promised myself I would never let anything else happen to you. When I told your mother I would take care of you as a kid I meant it.” He had a serious look to his face, one Ryuji had never really seen before, and it made his heart thud in his chest a little bit. He swallowed thickly, picking at his thumb now, and laughed softly.

“Thanks. I'm sorry I'm acting so...depressed about this. I don't mean to, I know we're s'posed to celebrate today but I just...” A hand settled onto his shoulder to squeeze reassuringly, and the tension bled from his body. “Today was good 'til we got here.”

“Today is still good. Come on. Let's talk about something pleasant instead, hmm? The food here is wonderful, one of my coworkers brought me here for my birthday last year. And please, don't worry about paying me back, as I told you. I'll take care of everything today.” Akechi pulled the menu in front of him closer and opened it to begin looking through it. “They even have strawberry cheesecake. Do you want to get one to split between us?”

“Yeah. That's...I'd like that a lot, actually. Thanks man. Uhhhh...can you pick somethin' for me I might eat? I don't wanna look like an ass or somethin'.” Akechi chuckled and nodded, flicking through the pages and humming quietly to himself. “Thanks. So uhhh...how has work been for you lately?”

“Stressful, as usual. Crow's murder last week has the entire department scrambling to try and figure something out. The public is growing more frightened, and tensions are rising. Especially with Joker's sudden silence; they're waiting for him to strike again so they can feel safe,” he answered. Ryuji's eyes widened and his posture straightened up.

“Dude, do you not know?” he asked. Akechi looked over to Ryuji, his head tilting ever so slightly now.

“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Ryuji snorted and flopped back against his chair, making Akechi close his menu and set it down in front of him. “I asked that I not be bothered with work today unless it was absolutely necessary. Did...do you know something about Joker?”

“Yeah. He left a calling card at Shujin today. His next target's Kamoshida, the P.E teacher. I'm really surprised you didn't find out before you came to get me,” he said, watching Akechi's eyes widen in shock.

“Wha-why didn't you tell me? That's something I would have liked to know! I could have arranged for a police escort to stay with him and protect him before we left!” Ryuji shrugged, kicking one leg up over the other and sighing.

“He kept insistin' he was fine. Told the other teachers that he didn't do anything wrong, that it was just a stupid prank by some pissed off track kid or somethin'. I honestly didn't even think about it 'till now. Do you need to leave...?” Akechi shook his head, sighing and setting his hands in his lap.

“No. I'm sure the calling card was reported to the police as soon as it was discovered. While I am affiliated with Joker's case, my main assignment for the past few months has been the Crow case. I'm not surprised I wasn't informed of the calling card,” he admitted. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the new message he had while Ryuji was distracted with his plush again.

_I saw a kid at the store today, when I was picking the gift. Instead of admitting he wanted a doll, he broke it in a fit of rage. He didn't even feel sorry when he was forced to pay for it._

Akechi clicked his tongue and shoved it back just as their waitress returned. Immediately his pleasant demeanor returned, a perfect facade settled back onto his face and into his voice as ordered for them. He asked about the cheesecake, and she gave it a glowing recommendation. One of the best cheesecakes she had ever tasted, and that sealed the deal. He tacked that onto their order and flashed a bright smile as she took the menus from them. 

“I hope you're okay with fish, Ryuyu,” he said and took a drink from his water glass. “But now it's my turn to ask you questions. How has your school work been since I last asked?” Ryuji sighed and began bouncing the plush in his lap.

“It's okay. I've been keeping up with my homework pretty well, actually,” he said. “Still kinda struggle with it, 'nd I thought about askin' Ann 'nd Shiho to help me with it, but I don't wanna bother 'em about it.” He squeezed the plush gently and set it back down in his lap. “I almost asked Kurusu to help, but...”

And now Akechi noticed it. He had missed it the first time, more concerned with the game that Ryuji had dragged him over to play, but now he caught it. The first time they'd spoken Ryuji had mentioned he had a nickname for Akira. But now, all of a sudden, he's calling him Kurusu...?

“Did you and Kurusu have a falling out? You aren't using his nickname suddenly,” he said. Ryuji tensed and cleared his throat, eyes darting around for a few seconds before he answered.

“Uhhh...I honestly didn't even notice it. Got so used to everyone at school calling him that I guess I picked the habit up,” he laughed.

Akechi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He could tell Ryuji was lying to him, and he almost questioned why until the answer hit him. Akira hadn't mentioned getting into an argument or fight of any sorts with Ryuji, which almost guaranteed that Kamoshida had something to do with it. His hands squeezed tight, leather gloves squeaking from the force of his grip. He forced himself to take a few long, controlled breath to calm himself down and plastered a fresh smile on his face.

“Good to hear. You mentioned that he was turning into a good friend of yours, I would hate to see such a blossoming friendship cut short,” he said. Ryuji suddenly laughed and shook his head.

“Are you sure you aren't a little jealous that I've found a new friend~?” he teased, completely missing the slight flush that raised in Akechi's cheeks. “I honestly shouldn't ask, because I know you're always busy, but I was wonderin' when the next time you might be free is? I want you to meet him. You two might get along.”

“I need to meet the person who's been hanging out with my best friend anyway. Make sure he isn't someone who will hurt you,” Akechi said. He laughed internally at that, as he knew exactly what kind of person Akira was and could honestly say he trusted Akira with Ryuji's life completely. His insistence on killing Kamoshida and helping keep Ryuji safe proved that well enough.

Ryuji's stomach growled loudly, and there was an awkward silence before they both burst into laughter. Neither of them had actually eaten anything since lunch, and admittedly Akechi was beginning to develop a headache from lack of food. Ryuji's stomach was beginning to curl painfully, and the delicious smell of the food wafting through the restaurant only made things worse.

When their food finally arrived Ryuji had to reach up and wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth. Akechi chuckled at that, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. Immediately Ryuji ducked his head, embarrassment making his skin flush dark. For a moment he had forgotten where they were eating and let himself behave like he normally would around Akechi.

“God I'm so sorry I just did that, I really hope I didn't embarrass you,” he said quickly. He refused to make eye contact and instead decided to pick awkwardly at his food. His appetite had suddenly left him.

“Don't worry, Ryuyu. I wouldn't expect you to act any different than you normally would. I don't want you to act any different either. I would feel awkward if you suddenly acted as prim and proper as many of the people I work with. They're such a drain, honestly, and being able to relax and be myself with you is a welcome respite,” Akechi said. “I hope the food is to your liking.”

“I'm sure it will be. You know what I like to eat,” Ryuji laughed and finally found enough of his appetite to take a bite, and immediately he groaned. His eyes rolled back into his head and he sighed softly. “Fuckin' hell man, this is so good!”

“I'm glad you like it,” Akechi laughed. “Perhaps we should start coming here more often, since you seem to enjoy the food so much.” Ryuji's eyes widened and he stopped mid-bite.

“Wha-no! Go-chan this stuff is too expensive for that! I don't want you spendin' that much money on me. Today's special, that's the only reason I didn't say no.” He leaned back and flashed a smile that made Akechi's heart jump suddenly. “Mom said she always wanted to eat here one day, so...I guess it's kinda fitting you picked this place.”

“...Really?” Akechi whispered. “I...I didn't even know, honestly. I just wanted to take you out some place nice today to make you feel better.”

“Well, you've definitely managed to do that,” Ryuji laughed. “She'd definitely appreciate you doin' this for me. She always talked about you and kept trying to talk me into gettin' back in touch with you after you got famous. Said you looked pretty lonely when she saw you on T.V and that you needed a friend.” Akechi's face flashed for a brief moment, too quick for Ryuji to pick up on, before a warm smile returned to his face. “She also kept sayin' that you were growing up into a good man, and that she was proud of where you were goin'.”

“She did?” Akechi's voice was barely above a whisper, his shoulders slack and a genuine look on his face that reminded Ryuji of an abandoned animal looking for love it desperately needed. An expression that Ryuji had made more than a few times, he knew. For lack of a better word, honestly, he looked pathetic. Ryuji reached forward to take Akechi's hand and squeeze it gently.

“I mean it, dude. She was happy for you. Worried, like a mom should be, but she was still happy for you. She talked about trying to get a hold of you and takin' you out for your eighteenth birthday. Maybe even you living with us while you were going to university too,” he said. “...Hey, you're crying. You okay?”

“Huh? Oh yes I'm fine,” Akechi laughed quickly, wiping at his eyes and sniffling a little bit. “I just...remember how much your mother would dote on me when she came to visit mine. These are good tears, Ryuyu, don't worry. Now why don't we enjoy our food before it gets cold and get home. We have school tomorrow, and I don't want to keep us out too late.”

“Ugh, don't remind me about school right now dude, I wanna enjoy tonight.”

They chatted about nothing and everything, Ryuji laughing a little too loud sometimes and catching the ire of the other diners but never once caring. Akechi occasionally reached over to poke and prod at him, teasing him about how attached he had already gotten to the plush. They reminisced about Ryuji's mother, about their childhood and the games they used to play together. When the cheesecake came out Ryuji's eyes widened.

The cheesecake was one thin slice that stood about three inches tall. A layer of chocolate wrapped around the thick cream layer, with a thin graham cracker base and an almost equally thin layer of strawberry glaze covering the top. A single gold strawberry set in the center, curls of chocolate creating soft leaves around the strawberry. When It was set onto the table, Ryuji looked over at Akechi with a weak laugh.

“Dude, this looks expensive as hell,” he whispered. The waitress glared, a look of disgust on her face, and dropped down two forks. “How much did all of this cost? Seriously. I want an answer.”

“I won't tell you. Today we aren't focusing on cost. I have more than enough to cover all of this and then some,” Akechi promised. “I promised myself I would take you out somewhere nice today, and that I wouldn't let you worry worry about it. I meant that.” His voice left no room for argument as he cut a small piece from the cheesecake. “Now open up.”

“C'mon dude, I'm not your girlfriend!” Ryuji took the fork and popped the piece of cheesecake into his mouth. He groaned again and covered his mouth as he spoke. “Holy shit this is delicious. Mom would have absolutely loved this. It's the best I've ever had. Is this why you brought me here?”

“Part of the reason, yes,” he admitted and grabbed the second fork to take a bite of his own. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a few people snap pictures of the two of them together, and instead of panicking it seemed to set his mind even more at ease. “The other reason being the one I've said twice already. I wanted to take you somewhere nice.”

“Still don't know why, but thanks. Means a lot to me that you thought to do this for me. And the food was fuckin' delicious man. Wish I could learn to cook like this. I'm used to livin' on instant food and the occasional trip to the ramen shop near my apartment.” Akechi smiled and took another bite of cheesecake.

“Perhaps I should start inviting you over to my apartment for dinner sometime. I've learned how to cook quite a few dishes since I began living on my own. Unfortunately I promised to work late tomorrow since I spent today with you, but perhaps the day after tomorrow you would like to come over for dinner?” he asked. Ryuji seemed to contemplate this for a few moments before shaking his head.

“I dunno. I'll text you and let you know when I find out,” he said. He wanted to say yes, he really honestly did. But Kamoshida had been getting worse and worse lately, and Ryuji didn't want to risk making plans that night only to be brutalized and forced to crawl home to his apartment and crying himself to sleep instead of going to Akechi's to enjoy dinner with him. He yawned suddenly, rubbing at his eye and groaning. “Ugh, I haven't stayed up this late in a while...”

“Then let's hurry to get you home. I honestly need to get some sleep myself,” Akechi admitted. “Wait outside for me, Ryuyu. I won't be long, I promise.” Ryuji began to argue, but the look he was given killed his voice in his throat. He grabbed the plush in his lap and quietly made his way outside to wait in the streets for Akechi.

He couldn't deny that tonight had been extremely pleasant. A blooming warmth had settled into his chest from the moment Akechi's hand had touched him outside of Shujin, only growing hotter and brighter the longer they spent together. A hand settled over his rapidly-beating heart, lips curling up into a soft smile.

He didn't know when his crush had developed. Maybe it was when they were younger, before Akechi had to leave and move in with his father, or maybe it started when they were apart, or maybe it even bloomed when Akechi got back in touch with him. All he knew was that he wanted Akechi's attention and affection. But at the same time, he was terrified to say anything. He didn't know how Akechi would react, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin his friendship. They were so close, and a part of him felt that Akechi only saw him as a younger brother, nothing more. If he said anything about his feelings...

The thought of losing his best friend since childhood to something as stupid as a crush terrified him. He couldn't call it love (the thought of being in love with Akechi was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, and honestly described the way he felt perfectly) or risk making him hate himself even worse. A crush, he reasoned, could fizzle out easily. Love...love was a lot more permanent. Something he wouldn't be able to ignore and pretend it didn't exist. Love was something he felt he didn't deserve, because he was dirty and disgusting, and someone who didn't even honestly deserve the time of day from anyone in their right minds.

A hand settled on the small of his back, making him jump and jerk away immediately. For a split second he thought maybe Kamoshida had found him and was about to drag him off somewhere, but instead he saw Akechi smiling warmly at him. His heart thudded against his chest again, and he smiled meekly.

“Uhhh...sorry. You scared the shit out of me, dude,” he laughed. “...Hey Go-chan, can I ask you to uhhhh...to take me back home?”

“I planned on that anyway,” Akechi said. “If we hurry we should be able to catch the trains back to your apartment.” The pair began walking down the street, shoulder to shoulder and pressed as flat to the walls of the buildings they passed as they could manage.

“Will you be able to get back to your place before they stop runnin'?” Ryuji asked. He ducked out of the way of someone bustling past in a hurry, muttering something to themselves about 'damn brats' and 'idiot son.' “I don't want you stuck walkin' home by yourself. You can crash at my place if you want.”

“I'll be able to make it home, Ryuyu. Thank you for the concern, but I promise I'll be fine. I'll even make sure to text you after I get home,” Akechi said as they stepped down into the station. His hand brushed against the back of Ryuji's, and sparks shot up his arm without warning. He quickly tugged away, hoping Ryuji didn't notice and begin to worry. When Ryuji didn't immediately shy away he relaxed and pushed the fears away.

The ride to Ryuji's apartment was quiet, the blond beginning to doze off a bit and lean against Akechi's arm. It felt nice, and for a little bit he could pretend that they were dating, that he had confessed and that everything would be okay between them. That Akechi had felt the same way and had avoided confessing for the same reason he had.

For a few minutes he dreamed, and in it he lived with Akechi in a nice apartment somewhere. A gold band flashed on his hand, a promise ring between the two of them to always be there for each other. Neither one was quite ready for marriage even if the subject had come across the dinner table a few times. The weight and warmth of Akechi's hand in his as they sat side by side on their couch made his heart squeeze, and he opened his mouth to say those three little words that he could never get out before.

He jolted awake suddenly and sucked in a sharp breath, rubbing at his eyes and groaning. The shoulder he had been leaning against Akechi on felt painfully tense so he rubbed it to help loosen the muscle. Akechi smiled at him, and his heart nearly shot out of his throat.

“I was just about to wake you. We're almost there,” he said quietly. Ryuji stretched and yawned, reaching down to scratch gently at his stomach and shaking his head from side to side in an attempt to wake himself back up. He glanced down at the Shiba Inu laying in his lap and sighed.

“I need to name him,” he muttered. “Somethin' that fits a pirate.”

“You can think on that after you've had some sleep,” Akechi hummed. His eyes drooped a little bit as he spoke. It was obvious he was beginning to finally tire out as well. Ryuji felt awful for keeping him awake so long, and almost began apologizing before he remembered that Akechi could have cut things short at any point. He was the one who had decided to keep going until Ryuji had yawned. For once he swatted the guilt in his heart away and focused on the happiness the entire day had given him.

Thankfully the station wasn't far from Ryuji's apartment, meaning the walk there wasn't too much of a strain on Ryuji's still throbbing leg. Akechi insisted he take a hot bath and soak for a little bit to try and ease some of the pain, and even suggested using a heating pad on it for a little bit as well. Ryuji figured that actually wasn't too much of a bad idea, honestly, and promised both Akechi and himself that he would take that bath.

As they began climbing the stairs up to Ryuji's apartment Akechi pulled his phone out yet again to look at the message he had.

_The canary sang._

Akechi's lips curled up in a terrifying and sadistic grin as he typed out a reply.

_I can't wait to hear it. I bet it was gorgeous._

_The most beautiful song I've ever heard._

Ryuji turned to Akechi after unlocking his apartment door and felt his heart sink. Akechi was smiling at his phone warmly, eyes lit up and a quiet laugh bubbling out. A sudden bolt of jealousy hit him, and he let his eyes fall down to the dog in his hands. Akechi had looked so excited to win it for him...

“Hey Go-chan. Thanks for spending the day with me,” he said. Immediately Akechi's had snapped up; he could hear the sudden sadness in Ryuji's voice and concern flashed across his face.

“Ryuyu are you okay? What's wrong?” he asked. Before Ryuji could answer his eyes widened and he gasped. “Oh...I promised I wouldn't touch my phone today. I was stupid, I shouldn't have...I'm sorry.”

“It's fine. I just...figured it was a crush or someone you were tryin' to impress,” Ryuji admitted. Akechi stared for a moment before laughing, and Ryuji's face lit up bright red in embarrassment.

“Ryuyu no! One of my coworkers was looking for a gift to give to her crush. She wanted my opinion on it and has been texting me to ask about it all day,” he chuckled and held his phone out for Ryuji to see. At the top of the chat log was the contact name.

_Ah-kun (work)_

Ryuji groaned and shoved his face into the back of his plush. The embarrassment he felt only grew worse now. He almost felt like he should just get it over with and confess now after that one. The only explanation for that comment he could think of would be Ryuji jealous of Akechi liking someone else instead of him.

“Okay. Well I'm...I'm glad,” he said, fidgeting a little bit and twisting his left foot a little bit against the metal of the stairs. Akechi's head tilted ever so slightly as he stuck his phone back into his pocket.

“Glad about what? That her crush liked the gift or...?” Akechi asked. Ryuji felt a wave of nausea come up at the realization that he couldn't let someone like Akechi love someone like him. He was fucked up and disgusting and would be an absolute disgrace to date.

“...Nothing, Go-chan. Goodnight,” he said quietly and turned to head inside. The sadness in his voice was enough to give Akechi pause. Pain shot through his chest, enough to steal his breath and slam him in the face with a sudden realization.

He had fallen for his best friend. He should have realized it much sooner, honestly. The boiling rage that burned him when Akira told him of what Kamoshida had been doing to him, the despair he felt as he realized that he hadn't even noticed something was wrong for so goddamn long...the warmth he had felt when they touched at the arcade. The feeling that had settled in his chest as they shared dinner. The spark that shot through him when they touched in the train station. He mentally kicked himself in the ass at just how long it had taken him to realize this.

“Hey Ryuyu, I-” Ryuji turned back to look at him, and Akechi felt everything freeze. Ryuji looked so disheartened and upset, and it hit Akechi that confessing right now would be arguably the worst thing he could do. He had upset Ryuji pretty bad today, and admittedly confessing your love for someone on the day of their mother's death was a pretty tactless thing to do. He decided to save it for another day, when the reason they were together wasn't such a somber one.

“You look tired.,” Ryuji said suddenly. Concern was evident in his voice, and Akechi found the slight warmth in his cheeks strange but pleasant. “Make sure you get some sleep, okay?”

“You too.” Without thinking and without hesitating he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to Ryuji's forehead. The heat on his face burned brighter, and before Ryuji could say anything to stop him he turned and hurried down the stairs and off around the corner back towards the train station.

Ryuji's hand raised to his forehead to touch the spot Akechi had kissed as he stepped inside. He remembered that was how Akechi's mother always said goodbye to him when he was younger. It always made him feel safe and loved even knowing he would be going back to his apartment with his abusive fuckwad of a dad. It reminded him of the smell of sugar cookies baking and drying finger paintings on a sunny afternoon. It only made the feelings in his heart surge with each beat until, with a twisting feeling in his stomach, he realized that the way he felt about Akechi was so, so much worse than just a stupid little crush.

The door shut behind him with a soft click as he leaned against it. Burning hot tears began rolling down his cheeks, his back following them down the door until he was curled up in his pitch-black living room, shoulders heaving with each heavy sob. The sudden flood of emotions he had been feeling all day was finally catching up to him, and the gut punch of understanding that he loved his best friend had broken him. Eventually his head pounded and his eyes stung enough to pull him out of it to crawl off to his bedroom and into bed. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping much that night, but Akechi had told him to get some sleep, and the least he could do was at least attempt to do as he had been asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serial Killer Profile: Crow  
> Real Name: Goro Akechi  
> Occupation: High School Student/Junior Detective  
> Status: Active  
> Official Kills: 23  
> Signatures: Decapitation, with the head left near the courthouse and placed on top of a laminated list of their crimes.  
> Danger to Public: moderate  
> Targets: People who have gotten away without proper justice  
> Method: Many of his victims are those who got away with things like domestic  abuse and other similar level crimes. He prefers those who use fear and other tactics to keep their victims silent, and swiftly delivers justice. The victims are snatched and brought to a secluded place where they are read their crimes and put on trial. Of course as judge, prosecutor, and executioner, Crow is highly efficient. The only downside to his method is the lengths he has to go through in order to dump the head and body in the proper places. If getting rid of the body isn't feasible, he's not above leaving it headless where they were slain. He and Joker tend to vie for kills without meaning to, and more than once they've had to cut their investigations and preparations short when the other got to their targets first.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH HEY GUESS WHAT I FINALLY UPLOADED YA DIRTY HEATHENS.  
> I *really* hope this went...okay...? My first time writing torture and it was so difficult that I had to take that extra week LMAO. But Kamoshida FINALLY gets what's coming to him! PRETTY heavy trigger warnings for gore in this chapter. Also the text conversation will make a *lot* more sense now. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HEED THE TAGS.

Akira trudged through the heavy metal doors, grunting with every step from the weight on his back. He had expected Kamoshida to be heavy, yes, but apparently the perverted bastard was heavier than he looked. He seemed to have more muscle underneath his shirt than Akira had thought. He dropped Kamoshida down onto the hard concrete floor and straightened his back out with a groan.

“Fuckin' heavy shitstain,” he huffed as he slid the heavy metal doors of the warehouse shut behind him. His back was killing him already; he knew he would have to take a good long bath after tonight to ease the pain. He took his sweet time dragging Kamoshida over to the chair he had set up in the middle of the room, and then realized he would have to hoist him up again and groaned. “Just great. You're gonna throw my back out at this rate. Killing you is going to be so fucking pleasant.”

This time when he hoisted Kamoshida up he used the chair as extra leverage and flopped him down into it. The chair creaked a bit, and for a brief moment Akira worried the chair would splinter under his weight. When it didn't make any other concerning noises he relaxed and walked over behind the table that held his camera and scooped Joker's box up to open it. He fished his phone out of his pants pocket to send a quick message before he dropped it onto the table to get changed.

_I found the perfect gift. How many 'bells and whistles' should I put on it?_

He had just managed to get his pants on when he got a reply.

_As many as you can manage. Within reason, of course._

Akira smiled and glanced over to Kamoshida for a moment to think. He could carve the fucker up, leave nice red lines all across his skin, cut just deep enough to draw blood but not enough to cause serious damage. Or he could leave nice deep holes in him, draw even more blood at once and cause as much havoc as he could.

_Good idea. Striped or polka-dotted...?_

He took a moment to run his hands along the leather of his coat, sighing at the feeling under his fingers. How long had it been since his last kill...? A month? Two? He couldn't exactly remember. But that itch of his, that violent tendency that demanded blood, was finally going to be scratched after so, so long, and he couldn't be happier. He had just grabbed his vest out from under his coat when his phone went off again.

_I have a strong preference for stripes. Polka-dots look tacky, honestly._

_Alright. How much ribbon should I use? I want this to look perfect when I'm finished._

He whipped his turtleneck off and stuffed it into the box before pulling the over shirt on. He frowned a little bit, realizing that he seemed to have lost a bit of weight since his last confession. He'd gotten lazy and needed to start working out again, it seemed. Thankfully his coat would cover the awkward fit and, if he was lucky, he could get some muscle back on his slim frame to fix this. When his phone vibrated again he dropped his gloves down to pick it up and glance at the message.

_Not too much ribbon. You still want the wrapping paper to show, after all._

Akira hummed and set his phone on vibrate before finally pulling his gloves on and squeezing his hands a bit. It really had been so damn long since he'd worn Joker that he'd forgotten just how nice the leather felt against his skin. The boots added the final touch to his look; he took a moment to readjust to the height difference his heels brought before grabbing two thick lengths of rope and strutting over to Kamoshida.

The first length Akira wrapped around his chest and arms, tying an intricate knot at the back of the chair. The second length pinned his legs and hips in place, and this knot rest against the underside of the chair. He tugged them both a few times to test their strength before nodding and moving back over to the table. A blue tarp sat folded neatly beside the camera, ready to be strung up by fishing wire behind Kamoshida to both hide the inside of the warehouse behind them and catch any blood that may get flung around during the confession.

He fished his lighter out from inside of his jacket and checked the fluid levels in it. They were almost flush with the head; he must have refilled it after the last time. He quickly struck it to make sure the flame was at it's strongest setting and, satisfied that everything was ready, hopped up onto the table to sit and wait.

He didn't have to wait long, as it turned out. About fifteen minutes after Akira had settled down to wait Kamoshida groaned, his eyes opening ever so slightly before he snapped them shut with a hiss. Akira grinned and threw one leg up over the other, hands clasping together and settling onto his knee.

“Ugh...the fuck...? Feels like I drank too much...” Kamoshida whined. He tried to move his arms to hold his head; when he felt the ropes tug against them and keep them pinned to the chair he woke up a little more. “The hell is going on? If this is some sick joke by the track team I'll make all of you run laps until you puke!”

“Oh, this has nothing to do with the track team,” Joker purred, his voice dropping a pitch from his usual timbre. There was a soft chuckle after a moment's pause. “Well, I suppose it actually has everything to do with a part of it...Kamoshida Suguru. Right?”

“Who the hell wants to-” He brought his head up to see who was talking to him and felt his blood turn to ice. He'd seen the videos. The morbid curiosity mixed with the heady rush of just knowing he would never get caught because he was too damn careful for that had let him stomach the horrible, awful, bloody confessions without nagging fear of one day ending up in the same situation himself. The fear had settled in completely, blanking everything out except the understanding that he was going to die.

But then he began to laugh. He got a good proper look at Joker and oh, this was hilarious to him suddenly. The brat was scrawny, probably barely had any muscle to him underneath all that leather. Even with the mask on his face Kamoshida could tell he was a pretty boy, and goddamn if he didn't have a weakness for the pretty ones. The way he had eyed that Akira kid a few days ago cemented that, honestly. Every bit of worry flushed out of his system with each chuckle until he finally sighed and fixed his gaze on the smug twerp across from him.

“You're just a fucking twink,” he barked. “I'm not scared of you.” Joker hummed to himself and with an almost inhuman amount of grace brought his legs apart and slid off the table to slide over behind Kamoshida. A hand settled on his shoulder to squeeze painfully, actually making him hiss at the sting. Maybe...maybe his assessment had been wrong.

“Not sure if I should consider that an insult or a compliment,” Joker chuckled, patting the side of Kamoshida's face and earning him a bite. Joker was too quick and he pulled his hand away faster than Kamoshida could move. This earned him a hand in the back of his hair slamming the base of his skull into the top of the chair with terrifying strength. “Most people like twinks, after all.”

“You're...not exactly my type,” Kamoshida said. It was a lie, and Joker knew it. He hadn't missed the way Kamoshida had stared at his thighs during their conversation beforehand. Kamoshida was just trying to save face at this point. But he didn't realize he had dug his own grave, though. Joker laughed, low and dark, and pulled his dagger out from the inside of his coat. He braced a hand on top of Kamoshida's head, only able to do so because of the added height from his heels, and began calmly flipping the blade up and down in his hand.

“Oh I know. That Sakamoto kid is more your type. Broken, scared, lonely...lean but still muscly. Doe eyed and easy to bend to your will.” He flashed a grin and caught his dagger before stepping out to where Kamoshida could see him. “Right?”

Kamoshida leered at him with pure rage and contempt in his eyes. This arrogant brat who looked like he could blow away in a strong enough breeze but had enough strength to haul him around spoke like he had the moral high ground. At least Kamoshida had never killed anyone. The black curly hair and the nonchalant attitude made him frown though.

“...You're not the guy the brat left with. Just how many people did he blab to?” he snapped. Joker shrugged and settled into his lap as best he could.

“Oh he didn't tell anyone. Refused to, in fact. He was deathly afraid of you. Then again...he didn't need to.” He flashed a wicked grin and leaned to the side to make sure the camera that was recording behind him could see Kamoshida's face.

“Then how the hell did you find out?” Kamoshida asked. He quickly bit his tongue, realizing he'd just confessed without directly doing so, and turned his eyes to the side to continue glaring at Joker.

_Akira fiddled with his phone a as he waited in front of the school and sighed tiredly. Kamoshida was taking his sweet fucking time leaving the school, it seemed. At this rate Akira wouldn't be done until well after midnight. Off to his left a crowd of fans had circled Akechi, who looked flustered and frustrated at all the added attention. Akira couldn't help but smile at him._

_Footsteps to his right made him snap his head up, and he saw Mishima come to a stop in front of him. He had a leather case in his hands and kept his head bowed low, like he didn't want to be looked at._

_“Mishima?” He jerked a bit in surprise when the case was suddenly shoved into his chest. His entire body shook, and at first Akira thought it was from fear before Mishima looked up to lock eyes with him. Defiance shined bright in his eyes, and Akira let his fingers close around the case gently. “...What is this?”_

_“It's...it's all of Kamoshida's videos. The ones with...with Ryuji. I managed to get them yesterday. During track practice. You said you were going to help him, right? Well...there's all the evidence.” He began squirming a little bit, suddenly struggling to maintain eye contact again. “You...you promise Kamoshida won't hurt us again...?”_

_“I promise you, Mishima. He'll never be able to bother anyone ever again,” Akira promised. “But...you said us.”_

_“Ryuji isn't the only one he's been abusing. You know about the blackmail with Yusuke and I. Originally he threatened to treat me like Ryuji if I said anything, because I walked in on him with Ryuji in his office one day. He made me clean up afterwards and hide all the evidence. But then he caught Yusuke and I kissing, and well...you know the rest,” Mishima said.”And...Shiho...”_

_“He was abusing Shiho too?” Akira asked. Mishima quickly shook his head and scratched at a darkening mark on the side of his neck. For a moment Akira wondered if it was from being hit, but he quickly recognized it as a hickey._

_“No. But he threatened her when Takamaki began asking around about Ryuji as well. He said if she didn't stop it he'd...he'd throw Shiho off the roof and make it look like she tried to kill herself,” he explained. “It's why I tried to warn you. He would do anything it took to keep his secret safe. I'm sorry if I seemed rude to you before.”_

_“No. I understand. You were scared of being hurt. I get that,” Akira said, pulling his school bag down to stuff the case inside it. “Thank you for helping, Mishima.”_

_“Yuuki. Please. I...I want you to make him pay,” he said, a stern expression on his face. “I...I know evidence makes things easier. And I'm sorry I can't do much else, but this should be more than enough. Things...are always easier with evidence. Right?” Akira couldn't be sure, but he thought that maybe he could hear something underneath Yuuki's voice that gave him pause. Did Yuuki...?_

_No. He couldn't have figured it out. Akira had been far too careful, and he'd only been here about two weeks. No way in hell could he have figured it out. So instead he just nodded at Yuuki and smiled._

_“Right. Thank you, Yuuki. I'll make sure this gets taken care of.”_

“You really shouldn't have kept all those videos, you know. Some of it was fucked up, even by my standards,” Joker answered calmly, twirling the dagger between his fingers slowly. Kamoshida couldn't help but watch, a part of him genuinely impressed at just how fluid the kid's movements were. When the knife stopped twirling he watched the blade drop down and press between two of his ribs, exactly where his heart would be. His muscles tensed, pushing the blade into the skin enough to start a thin trickle of blood rolling down his flesh and staining his shirt. “I want the truth out of you. You had a hand in breaking Ryuji's leg, didn't you?”

Kamoshida went stock still, his eyes widening a bit in shock. After taking a couple of seconds to collect himself he let the corner of his lips curl up a bit.

“So what if I did?” he asked. Joker's face twisted to one of anger and rage as he let the tip of the blade dig in just a little bit further.

“I want a clear confession out of you. Did you or did you not have a hand in Ryuji's leg breaking?” Kamoshida grunted at the sting in his ribs, and realizing it hurt a lot worse than he thought it would, decided to take the coward's way out.

“Yes! I did. There,” he growled. His muscles relaxed and he leveled a confident smirk at Joker. He had confessed; there was no need to keep him alive. Sure, all he had admitted to was breaking Ryuji's leg, but it was still something. Enough to get him a quick and painless death.

Or so he thought; instead the knife in his skin turned and ran along his rib, tracing the swell of the third one and leaving a stinging slice in its wake. The flow wasn't heavy, nothing too concerning, and both Joker and Kamoshida knew the wound would close up in a few minutes. Terror settled back into Kamoshida's bones at the realization that he was in it for the long haul now.

“You raped Sakamoto in the hospital too. Broke his spirit after you broke his leg,” Joker hummed. He pulled the blade away to flick the blood collected at the edge off onto the tarp behind Kamoshida and sighed.

“...You can't prove anything,” Kamoshida argued. Breaking a kid's leg wasn't much of an offense. It would have landed him in jail, obviously, but confessing to abusing Ryuji would only make things worse and garner more sympathy for both the brat and Joker. And that was the last thing Kamoshida wanted to do. He could avoid getting killed if he just kept his mouth shut and played his cards right. But Joker played dirty, and no matter how stubborn his victims were, he always got the confession he wanted.

“Oh but I can prove that you did. I have the video you took of it, after all,” he said. “Poor scared and lonely Ryuji...you took advantage of him when he was stuck in that hospital bed with a busted leg that you caused.” The smug look on Kamoshida's face disappeared, instead replaced with one of confusion.

“...There's no way. I keep it-” He bit his tongue again, but the damage was done. His temper was getting the best of him, and he was steadily shooting himself in the foot over this. He hoped that maybe he could still get out of this. Somehow. But the look on Joker's face made him worry that maybe he was in over his head, and that he was dead wrong.

“Ah. Ratted yourself out there. I don't have it. I didn't know where you kept it, actually. But now you can tell everyone what exactly you did to Ryuji,” he said. He let the tip of his blade come to rest right next to Kamoshida's left nipple, eyes flicking between the gleam of metal and Kamoshida's face.

“Why should I?” He didn't want to confess. He hoped that maybe the longer he took, the higher his chance of being found by the police and rescued. He'd just end up in jail, but at least he wouldn't be tortured like this by a fucking kid. And if he made it out, then maybe they wouldn't even throw him in jail. He could probably sweet talk his way out of it, after all. Say he only admitted those things out of fear and to make Joker happy. Then he could go back to the school and take his anger and frustrations out on Ryuji.

Joker, however, seemed to to not like that answer, if the way he straightened up in Kamoshida's lap and the pissed off look to his face was anything to go by. He quickly scraped the blade across the nipple, drawing fresh blood and making Kamoshida jerk against the pain.

“Because I want you too,” Joker huffed. “I might even grant you a quick death if you confess.”

“I refuse,” Kamoshida hissed, rebellion and anger in his eyes. Like hell would he admit to what he's done. Joker stared for a few long moments before clicking his tongue and calmly sliding out of Kamoshida's lap.

“We'll see just how long you'll hold out,” he promised calmly. He reached forward and twisted Kamoshida's left nipple painfully between two fingers, then pulled it as taught as he could and ran the knife through it. Kamoshida screamed, trying to jerk away from the pain and writhe against Joker's hold in the hopes of making him stop. The blade ran through easily, sharpened to a fine edge with obvious care.

The pain and the realization that he was now missing a nipple forced bile to rise up in the back of Kamoshida's throat. He swallowed it back down and began screaming again, watching as Joker calmly swung his fucking nipple back and forth in front of his face. Blood steadily streamed down his chest, each frantic pump of his heart pushing everything through just a little bit faster. Realizing this Akira calmly pressed the flat of the blade against the wound. He then pulled his lighter out, struck it, and held the flame against the metal of the blade to seal it shut. Another blood-curdling scream ripped itself from Kamoshida's throat and threatened to make him either vomit or black out, he wasn't sure. A strong slap to the side of his face pulled him back from the sweet release of unconsciousness.

“Don't think you'll get to pass out yet, asshole,” Joker warned. He tossed the flesh in his hand off into the tarp and quickly grabbed the other nipple. The tip of the blade dug into it painfully. “Now confess what you did to Ryuji in the hospital.”

Kamoshida swallowed again, tears rolling down his cheeks and pain running through every nerve in his body. This was easily the worst thing he'd ever experienced in his life. His the whole left side of his chest burned with a painful intensity that made him want to claw at it until it stopped. His right side had been left untouched so far. The sharp sting from the tip of the dagger trying to pierce his skin reminded him that the longer he held out, the worse this would be for him.

“...I came into his room pretending to...to offer condolences to him. After the accident that I...that I caused,” he began. The room spun slowly around him already, everything blending together in a disgusting haze. But Joker's hand suddenly painfully squeezing his jaw pulled him out enough to bring everything back into focus.

“So you planned on breaking him for a while then, right?” he asked. “Why? Why couldn't you just let him be? What sick, dark thoughts made you want to abuse a boy like Sakamoto?”

“He was bright as the sun, and making me put effort into a fucking team I didn't care about,” Kamoshida answered. “I hated seeing how well he was doing and just how cocky the little bastard was. I thought he needed to be taken down a couple pegs, you know? Could have easily disbanded the track team after that 'accident' of his but a buncha parents were breathing down my neck.” Joker snorted and pulled the knife away from his skin to start flipping it absently again.

“You couldn't handle your own emotions. That was your problem. And you decided to take everything out on sweet, innocent Sakamoto,” he said calmly. “I know I'm not wrong.” He could tell that Kamoshida was trying to avoid saying exactly what it was he did to Ryuji, but Joker wasn't going to let up until he got it out of Kamoshida.

“So what if I did? What kinda teacher would I be if I did anything about it the normal way?” he laughed.

“A good teacher? A normal teacher? A decent fucking human being?” He brought the blade back to the other nipple and pierced the skin ice-cold. It was already separating and Joker could see the blood pushing to the surface. “Still not a clear confession though.”

“Fine! Fuck it! When that little brat was laid up in that hospital bed with a busted leg I ripped that damn hospital gown off of him and had my fill of him! He felt fucking divine squeezing my cock like he did! He fought and struggled and goddamn if it wasn't the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen! And after that I kept him quiet by paying for his shitty apartment and shitty food and shitty clothes! He squealed, he ended up homeless and starving!”

Real contempt simmered in Joker's eyes as he stared at Kamoshida, jaw tensing and relaxing rhythmically to keep himself calm. He started grinding his teeth, and Kamoshida was close enough to hear the squeaking it caused. Or maybe it was from how tight Joker's free hand was squeezing shut, he wasn't sure. What Kamoshida did know was that he was getting giddy and starting to throw caution to the wind. Fuck it, he thought to himself; he wasn't getting out of this alive? May as well brag about that little blond slut as much as he can.

“So you raped him repeatedly. Broke him and convinced him that he wasn't worth shit. That he was a burden and that he couldn't rely on anyone else,” Joker said. He struggled to keep his voice even, and he struggled even harder not to just cut things short and slit Kamoshida's throat now. But as much as he wanted to he couldn't stop. Not until Kamoshida called 'uncle.'

“Damn straight. He hangs on to my every word now. I thoroughly ruined that boy. Nobody else will be able to have the little bastard. He's mine now,” Kamoshida said. A nasty grin flashed across his features and pride welled up in his chest. This sick fuck was proud of what he had done to Ryuji, and that pissed Joker off. “If I didn't know any better I'd think you had a boner for the little shit.”

“No,” Joker sighed. “I just can't stand to see people suffer at the hands of disgusting adults who rape their students, blackmail people into helping cover up their dirty practices, and threaten to murder an innocent girl's lover to keep his secret.” Kamoshida's eyes widened in disgust and rage suddenly. He jerked against the ropes with the hopes that maybe the knots weren't done properly and he could strangle the little bastard. But it seemed he wouldn't have that luxury, as the ropes held him tight in his seat.

“The hell? Who blabbed? Who fucking told you!?” he yelled. The chair jerked forward as he pushed again, and Joker calmly stuck a foot between Kamoshida's legs to keep it from happening again.

“Nobody. I found this all out on my own. Though honestly I have to admire just how intimidating you can be, if you've got three different kids held under your thumb,” Joker hummed.

“Bullshit! It was Mishima, wasn't it? That little shit ratted on me to save his boyfriend's ass I bet! Was he the one who told you?” Kamoshida spat. Joker calmly wiped the saliva from his face and backhanded the bastard in front of him. Two nasty hand prints were already beginning to show on his skin. “Bastard! Fuck you!”

“No thanks. You're not my type,” he said before pulling away and leaving the blade embedded in the wood. “You threatened to blackmail Mishima if he didn't help cover up you fucking Sakamoto, and you threatened to throw Suzui off the roof of the building if Takamaki didn't keep her nose out of your business. Right?”

“...Right.” Kamoshida had begun shaking at this point, finally dropping the macho facade and letting himself understand that he was dead meat. And then Joker was pulling away with a small, toothy grin before sliding back up onto the table and pulling his phone out. “What are you doing?”

Joker ignored him, instead deciding to continue the conversation with Akechi from before.

_I took one of the buttons off. I figure it looks better this way honestly._

_Are you sure it won't look weird with just one button on it?_

_It adds character. Anything else you can think of?_

_Are there any jewels on it? I wouldn't leave them on. They might be too flashy if you do._

Joker snorted and rolled his eyes, wondering if Akechi really completely understood what he had just implied or if he was merely following along with their plan and trying to play the helpful friend to a coworker. He decided to believe Akechi really did understand and kept the joke going.

In the background he vaguely noticed Kamoshida was still yelling, this time about just how worthless Mishima was if he decided to open his fucking mouth about this and just how much of an ass beating he deserved.

_Mmm. I think you're right. There's a giant fake ruby. I think I'll take that off._

_Ugh, a giant fake ruby? That screams gaudy. Get rid of it._

“As you wish,” he muttered to himself, low enough that the microphone on the camera wouldn't be able to pick him up, and dropped the phone down onto the table. He took a deep breath and sighed before flashing Kamoshida a bright, sunny smile.

“What's that smile for?”

“I just had an idea,” Joker said suddenly. He leaned down to the floor beside the table and fished up a new length of rope; he quickly measured out a length roughly eight inches long, then sliced through the thick material easily with his knife. A soft sigh slipped out as he slid down off the table and strutted back over to his victim. “This is going to be messy as hell, I can already tell. You're going to get blood on my clothes, and I'm going to be upset, But goddamn will I enjoy doing this to you. You're going to puke, and you're probably gonna pass out. But that's okay. I can wait.”

“The hell are you gonna do to me, punk?” Kamoshida asked. Instead of giving a verbal answer Joker just calmly reached between Kamoshida's legs to start squeezing his dick. “Th-the hell? Are you gonna j-jack me off or something?”

“Kind of? You'll find out soon enough,” Joker promised. He quickly undid Kamoshida's belt to open it and pull his cock out. The leather felt strange but oddly pleasant against his skin, and before he could stop himself Kamoshida found himself getting hard at surprisingly pleasurable touches. He tried to fight it down and pretend that this wasn't actually turning him on but his body betrayed him. His hips jerked forward into the warmth of Joker's gloved hand as he pulled it away and made a disgusted sound at his own reaction.

That short length of rope was promptly tied around the base of Kamoshida's dick, and a terrifyingly dark inkling of what was to come began seeping into his blood. He began struggling again and yelling burning insults at Joker, but all he got in return was the beginnings of friction burn against his skin and a hand slamming into the bottom of his jaw to knock his teeth together painfully. The rope began to squeeze painfully tight, and he realized Joker was tightening the loop until the end of his dick was flushed an angry, ugly red from the pressure. The makeshift cock ring kept the appendage taught, and the flash of metal in Joker's hands made Kamoshida scream.

“No! No, don't you fucking dare! Don't you fucking-”

“Don't worry asshole, this is gonna hurt me as much as it does you,” Joker muttered. He grabbed the tip of Kamoshida's dick firm in his hand and brought the blade down just above the edge of the rope. It slid through the thick muscle and veins easily enough, blood squirting against the underside of his hand. Kamoshida's screams in his ear were damn near deafening, and Joker could see the way his throat moved. Before Kamoshida could vomit on him Joker brought a bloody hand up to slap into the side of his face and turn it to the side.

The blade had caught about three-quarters of the way through the muscle, and Joker had to take a moment to collect himself before he could continue the removal process. Sympathy pains were a bitch. Hearing Kamoshida choke on his own bile and continually yelling certainly didn't help move the process along either. Joker was surprised he hadn't blacked out as soon as the knife had started to go through. He had to give the guy credit, he could take a surprising amount of pain it seemed.

When the skin had finally separated completely Joker calmly flung the severed dick off into the tarp and eyed his victim calmly. Kamoshida was bawling, begging for his life and apologizing for what he had done and hoping that maybe Joker would show him a little bit of sympathy if he swore to never hurt another student again. He didn't have a dick anymore, he wouldn't be able to rape Sakamoto anymore.

“If you don't pass out from this, I'll be impressed as hell,” Joke sighed. He pushed the knife against the stump of Kamoshida's cock and brought the lighter against the flat of the blade again. He heard an ear-splitting scream for the briefest of seconds before Kamoshida's head lolled forward against his chest. The smell of burnt flesh curled up in the air and sent Joker's stomach spinning. That was a scent he could never quite get used to, no matter how much he smelled it. The blood on his gloves had gone cold and made the leather crusty and crunch with every flex of his fingers. The angry, burn red of the severed dick made Joker subconsciously reach down to hold his own for a few brief seconds in the hopes of killing his own phantom pains.

Once they had died down he lurched forward and slapped Kamoshida across the face to wake him back up. The first hit did nothing, but the second pulled a weak groan from him. The third hit made him flinch, and the fourth pulled him the rest of the way out of the more and made bleary eyes open. Joker felt a sick glee at just how fucked up he actually looked and chuckled softly.

“You look like shit. I hope you feel like shit for what you've done,” he hissed. In answer Kamoshida laughed, a light in his eyes that made Joker's blood boil.

“I don't feel shit for what I've done,” he chuckled. The blood loss was obviously beginning to effect him and making him loopy. The last few filters between his brain and mouth had fallen away. “The amount of cash I got for breaking that punk's leg made everything worth it. Getting to fuck him whenever I wanted was just a happy accident and icing on the cake.” Joker's eyes widened in shock at this.

“Someone paid you to break his leg? Who was it?” he asked. He roughly grabbed the back of Kamoshida's head and shoved the knife against his throat. “I want an answer.”

“Someone who wanted to see him fall and break. Even got paid extra to break his spirit and turn him into my bitch,” Kamoshida growled. “But like hell will I tell you who.”

“I'll get it out of you soon enough,” Joker promised. He pulled the knife away from Kamoshida's throat to carve a thick line down the center of his chest. A yell ripped from his throat and made Joker flinch back in surprise.

“Who paid you!?”

“Fuck you! I won't tell you!” Red eyes narrowed as Joker ran his knife across Kamoshida's stomach now. It wasn't deep enough to spill his guts out, but one wrong move might risk the skin separating completely.

“Who was it!?”

“F...fuck off!” Joker stabbed the blade down into Kamoshida's thigh in anger before backing away over to the table and grabbing to grab his phone.

_I saw a kid at the store today, when I was picking my gift. Instead of admitting he wanted a doll, he broke it in a fit of rage. He didn't even feel sorry when he was forced to pay for it._

His phone hit the table with a rough clatter and his clean hand ran through his hair. He could see Kamoshida struggling more against his ropes and blood running down his thigh. This was far from the first time Joker had been angry during a confession, but this was easily his worst reaction. He chalked it up to being Ryuji's friend and the fact that helpless students like himself had been involved.

He realized long ago that people were shitty and adults were the worst offenders. They were shitty, idiotic, heartless people that stepped on anyone they wanted to get anything they wanted. The weak had no voice of their own, meaning someone needed to step up and scream for them. Others had taken up the mantle before, but Joker felt none were quite so forward or just as himself.

“Fuck you, you...you arrogant prick! You think you're...you're doing good!? You're...you're just as fucking...fucking...fucking bad as the people you kill!” This gave Joker pause and made him look over to Kamoshida.

“You think I'm as bad as you are? Because I kill people those have put a stain on society? Murderers, pedophiles, human traffickers and rapists that take advantage of the feeble? Morality is a thin gray line, and I feel I straddle it fairly well,” Joker growled. He wrenched the blade from Kamoshida's thigh, making sure to tear as much muscle as he could. A thin spurt of blood shot up before soaking more into Kamoshida's pants.

“F...fuckin'...fuckin' brat...” Joker scoffed and calmly walked over to stand in front of Kamoshida.

“I know I'm a brat. But at least I don't use my position to take advantage of kids,” he said calmly. He set his bloody hand on Kamoshida's jaw to squeeze painfully. “I hate people like you. You get off on watching people weaker than you try to struggle against you, don't you? What did Sakamoto or Suzui or Mishima ever do to you except exist?” Kamoshida threw his head forward to slam into Joker's. The sudden pain in his forehead made him recoil and rub his hand across the blooming red mark there.

Even covered in a terrifying amount of blood and very likely only just barely alive, Kamoshida still had enough fight in him to try and hurt his assailant. Joker genuinely did have to give him credit; he was resilient as hell and refused to lay down and take it like most of his victims did. It set a pleasant haze in his brain and a nice jolt of electricity across his body. The prey that didn't fight were easier, yes, but they didn't give him the same thrill that people like Kamoshida could. They were the ones who Joker loved to take down the most.

He pulled his lighter out and began running it across Kamoshida's cuts to seal them shut, taking care near the ropes to avoid burning them away and setting his captive free. The joy he felt at hearing Kamoshida forgo screaming and start sobbing made him flighty and gave him a heady feeling. Obviously Kamoshida wouldn't last much longer, meaning Joker needed to finish this up.

He straightened up from where he was hunched and calmly moved around behind the chair, fingers curling tightly in black curls and pulling Kamoshida's head back to expose his throat to the camera. The grand finale was about to start and he knew his fans wouldn't want to miss any of it. His lips brushed softly against Kamoshida's lips as he whispered to him.

“You should have taken your own advice and thought about who you spoke to.” It took a few long seconds before recognition lit up in Kamoshida's eyes. His mouth opened, likely to yell at Joker, but the knife ran across his throat before he could get the words out. He began choking on his own blood, struggling to even stay conscious at this point. Spasms wracked his body for about a minute and a half before he finally fell limp. The fingers in his hair slipped away and instead dropped down to pat the back of the chair.

Joker rolled his shoulders and sighed as he slowly strolled over to the cut the recording on the camera. He stabbed the blade down into the table and slid his gloves off. He peeled the screen protector from the front of his phone before tossing it to the side and sending another message.

_The canary sang._

He set the phone back down and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He realized he was shaking from rage still. Slowly he pulled his jacket off and folded it up to set on the table. Next came the vest, and just as he finished folding the clothing his screen lit up again. He set the gray fabric down and glanced at the message.

_I can't wait to hear it. I bet it was gorgeous._

_The most beautiful song I've ever heard._

Slowly he redressed, a pleasant thrum settling into his body and pushing through his body. One he had his glasses back on his face he popped the SD card out of the camera and slid it into his phone. He smoothed his hair down and took a slow breath before looking over to Kamoshida's rapidly cooling corpse.

Akira knew lugging around all that weight a second time would be absolute hell. His back was already killing him from the first trying. Trying to find a safe but remotely close place to dump the body would likely leave him hunched over at school the next day. He could also just leave the body here for the knight, but he didn't want to disappoint his fans or the police.

He remembered there being a park nearby with a busy circuit wrapping around the edge of the lake there. He would have to be careful, but he could easily drag the body there to dump it off. Someone would find it on their morning jog after a few hours, and if anyone happened to catch him...

They wouldn't live to tell anyone what they saw.

It seemed that whatever higher power had invested in Joker's work seemed to continue throwing luck his way, because he didn't find so much as a hint of stray drunkards in the back alleys he wound his way through. The park was even dead quiet when he dropped the body off. He made sure to add one final touch to Kamoshida's corpse. A necessary addition, he decided; he whipped Kamoshida's severed dick out of his pocket and calmly shoved it into the corpse's mouth and smirked. After making sure the corpse was easily visible he turned and began the trip back home.

Once he had settled into his room he fished his laptop out and slid the card out of his phone to pop into it. He pulled up Alibaba's private server and attached the video to a message.

_Surprise. I'm not taking that break I thought I was. Sorry it's such short notice. Keep out Takamaki, Suzui, and Mishima's name. And cut out the part where Kamoshida confesses to someone paying him to break Ryuji's leg._

He hit send and moved to close the laptop but stopped when he saw three little dots pop up.

_Can't believe you got something done without me. :P I'll have it up in an hour. It'll hit the site about midnight._

Akira chuckled and glanced down at his clock in the bottom corner of his laptop; the numbers flicked over to read 11:02. He let the lid click shut and tucked it back in one of his boxes before going off to get ready for bed finally.

A very small part of him began to regret this decision, honestly. Guilt always settled into him after a confession; was he doing the right thing? He killed people, after all. Was he really any better than the ones he murdered? Kamoshida screaming at him had only intensified the feelings tonight, it seemed. But the relief of knowing another sick person was finally off the streets finally flooded him, and the nerves left him with a sense of peace and calm.

When he finally settled into bed that night and felt his blanket wrap around him he let a slow breath slip out. Kamoshida was dead, Ryuji was safe, and the itch that always sat just underneath the surface of his skin had been scratched.

He fell asleep easily and dreamed of soft brown hair and brilliant red eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HI  
> DID YOU GUYS ASK FOR A 10K CHAPTER?  
> BECAUSE YOU GUYS GOT A 10K CHAPTER.  
> There was something mentioned last chapter in the torture that I had to reiterate here, obviously, as some people were probably too squeamish to read the torture, but yeah. Also squick warning in that more audio from the graduation video is at the end; just two lines but still, I feel it should be warned about. Also another killer profile at the end!

Akira wasn't surprised when there was a school assembly announced the next morning. Kamoshida's murder would require a lot of PR work, and the students were the easiest means to make sure things went as smoothly as possible. The entire assembly was just the principal feeding lines to the students in such a subtle way that any normal person wouldn't have been able to realize that it was happening. But Akira was smart, and he could see right through the bullshit for what it was..

“...police will be here to interview the students throughout the day. I'm sure I don't need to remind any of you that your answers reflect on the image of this school, so please keep any gossiping or speculation to yourselves,” Principal Kobayakawa huffed, giving a pointed glare to a group of girls standing just a bit to his left in the front. Immediately their heads dropped, their conversation dying out in lieu of hiding their faces in shame.

Akira immediately began wracking his brain to try and fish up a reliable alibi. Saying he was at Leblanc all night could _theoretically_ work, as Sojiro would back him up without hesitation. He had no reason to believe otherwise, but a part of Akira still worried that it wouldn't be enough. There was also the fact that Akira didn't actually get back to Leblanc before Sojiro closed down the cafe, meaning he would hesitantly admit that Akira probably came back after he'd already left for the night.

He could also say he was hanging out with Akechi, but that could easily put a blemish on the detective's image, and that wasn't what he wanted. Akechi would also likely call him crazy and say he'd never seen Akira before in his life.

“Hey. Kurusu.” He turned his head to the left to see Yuuki standing with a sketchbook clutched against his chest and a strange look in his eyes. He stood straight and proud, and Akira realized that Kamoshida had kept him meek and submissive. With the pervert dead now, Yuuki had nothing to fear anymore. The bandage on his cheek was gone now as well.

“Oh. Yuuki. Umm...what's up?” Akira asked, turning completely to give the younger boy his full attention. To answer him Yuuki took the sketchbook and shoved it against Akira's chest.

“Yusuke wanted me to give this to you. He uhhhh...he said it was thanks for letting him sketch you last night,” Yuuki stuttered out. “He said you were a really good model.” Akira let his fingers curl slowly around the book against his chest before flipping the cover open.

Yusuke had, indeed, sketched Akira as though they had been in the same room together. Most of them were profile drawings, quick little sketches of his face and obviously mapping out his features. The next page had a few from his waist up of him in his Shujin uniform. They were surprisingly detailed considering Yusuke had only gotten a quick glance at him during their conversation together. When he flipped to the next page he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The full-body portraits were obviously still of Akira, but these weren't of him in his Shujin uniform. One showed him in a simple sports jacket and slacks, a graphic tee underneath with a heart on it. Akira could tell there were supposed to be letters around it but the angle kept the letters out of focus. Another had him in some sort of blue and tan RPG-style outfit, complete with a metal gauntlet on his left hand that stretched down to his elbow. The final one had him in something a little bit more normal, just a suit and tie that he vaguely registered was meant to be a butler's outfit with a monocle.

“These are really good. I didn't realize he did this much,” Akira chuckled as he flipped the sketchbook closed. He wasn't quite sure why Yuuki did this, but he would take anything he could thrown at him honestly. “Guess I was a better model than I thought. But the costumes...?” Yuuki chuckled and pushed a few strands of hair behind his ear.

“Yeah. Yusuke does that sometimes. He's drawn me in a few different outfits too. He says it's a nice touch to see how far he can push himself with his art. I think you look really good in these though.” Akira smiled and shoved the sketchbook into his bag calmly.

“Glad you think so. By the way, have you seen Ryuyu? I want to make sure he's okay after...after last night,” he said quietly. The memory of Kamoshida screaming at him about just how pliant Ryuji had gotten hit him and made him sick. Yuuki smiled sadly and gently jerked his chin off to Akira's right.

“He's over there. Back corner, trying to avoid getting noticed by anyone. I talked to him before I came over here,” he answered. “He's pretty shaken up. A couple people showed him the confession. I wish Joker had left his name out, but...I understand why he didn't. People would have figured out it was him anyway, I guess.” Akira felt almost certain now that Yuuki somehow knew who he was, but he wouldn't push the matter. He would think about that later, as right now his top priority was making sure Ryuji was still okay.

Akira felt guilty, because it was painfully obvious that he wasn't okay. Thick bags under his bloodshot eyes showed just how little sleep he had gotten, and if Akira weren't in disbelief he would believe there were tear tracks on his face. His posture looked terrible, and his normally disheveled uniform looked even more improper than normal. When he noticed Akira standing in front of him he jumped a bit in surprise.

“U-ummm...hey. Hey there,” he whispered. He kept his eyes down to the ground and refused to meet Akira's still. He still sounded like he was scared of backlash from speaking to Akira, and that made Akira's heart hurt.

“Hey Ryuyu. Uh, shit. Ryuji. Wait, fuck, Sakamoto. Sorry, I didn't-”

“It's okay,” Ryuji said. He shifted his weight around and off of his bad leg before finally letting his head raise slowly. He rubbed the back of his neck and took a slow and shaky breath. “Kamoshida's gone. Don't gotta worry about him steppin' in anymore. But now you...now you know what he did to me. God I feel so disgustin'...” Tears welled up in his eyes now, and Akira knew for certain he had been crying all morning. “Do you...do you hate me or somethin' now? I lied to you for so long after all. And what Kamoshida did to me was fuckin' disgustin'.” Akira snorted at that, and after realizing that probably wasn't the smartest thing he could have done he quickly cleared his throat.

“No. I don't hate you, Ryuyu. It isn't your fault what happened to you. I'm just worried about you. I don't think we can ditch school today. Not with the cops showing up to question all the students. But maybe we could hang out after school?” Akira suggested. “I hate to sound like that person, but...” Ryuji sighed and nodded slowly.

“That...that actually sounds really nice, honestly. Gimme a good distraction from all this bullshit, ya know? Hopefully we won't run into any fuckin' reporters. Maybe you could finally meet Go-chan too,” he chuckled. He noticed Yuuki standing off to the side behind Akira and began fidgeting a little bit. “Ummm...hey, Mishima.”

“Hey, Sakamoto. I just wanted to come make sure you were okay. Kamoshida's confession...I'm so sorry I didn't say anything,” he whispered. Ryuji snorted and shrugged, kicking down at the floor absently with his bad leg. The tension in the air felt thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Don't feel bad man. I know they blanked your name out but I know he confessed to what he did to you too. I guess I'm just a little upset he didn't keep my name out of it,” he sighed. “But...people would have figured out soon enough anyway. I mean, I'm the only kid at the school with a busted leg like this, and Kamoshida always picked on me a lot. Guess there wouldn't have been much of a point to it. Just not looking forward to all the kids talkin' about me is all.”

“Hey. If any of them start to say anything mean to you, I'll personally come and kick their asses for you,” Akira promised, gently tapping Ryuji in the shoulder with his fist. “You have my word, Ryuyu. You're my friend, and I don't like seeing my friends hurt.” Ryuji smiled at that and let himself relax ever so slightly. Akira's promise let the fear and worry in his heart melt away and let him genuinely believe everything would be okay for him now.

“Why don't the three of us go out for ramen after school today?” Ryuji suggested. “I think it'll be a nice way to relax 'nd shit after all the interviews we're gonna go through today. Stuff our faces 'till we can't move?” Yuuki sighed at that and rolled his eyes back into his head.

“Ramen after today sounds amazing, actually. Yusuke's too busy working on his next art piece for class, so we can't hang out today. I was wondering what I would do to kill time today. But are you sure you want me to come along, Sakamoto?” he asked.

“Yeah man. I'm sure. And uhhh...call me Ryuji? Please? Makes me feel weird still hearin' you call me Sakamoto after the shit we went through man,” he said. Both he and Yuuki laughed quietly at that.

“Yeah. But you have to call me Yuuki in return then. It's only fair,” he argued. Ryuji shrugged and smiled at him.

“I think I can agree to that. Just gotta give me a bit to get used to it, 's all. Not really used to being that close to anybody,” he said.

“Don't worry, Ryuyu. You're obviously not the only one in the same boat. Anyway, since we're meeting up for ramen why don't we meet outside the gates after school? Hopefully we won't be kept too late,” Akira said. Yuuki and Ryuji both nodded at that, pulling their phones out and trading contact information. Yuuki then turned to Akira to do the same with a bright smile on his face.

Things like this were why Akira worked as Joker. Seeing someone as sweet and quiet as Yuuki blossom into the happy-go-lucky person they likely were before his victims sunk their claws in. Something as simple as going out with friends after school had him excited enough to bounce around on his feet and chatter on about anything and everything as they made their way to class together. He joked and teased and kept Akira on his toes. His behavior now was a complete 180 to the way he acted before, and it made Akira's heart warm.

Today would be good. Maybe not great, as he had to get his story straight with Yuuki about the night before and hope the police didn't read too much into it. But well enough to keep him happy and confident.

 

Akechi stared down at his phone as he waited in line. He could hear the chatter all around him and honestly he hated it. Every bit of it was about Joker and Kamoshida's confession and sympathy for that poor Sakamoto kid. He wanted to scream at them to tell them all to shut up and stop talking about his friend like that but he couldn't. He had an image to maintain.

Someone cleared their throat right in Akechi's ear, making him jump away in surprise and open his mouth to fling an insult at whoever the person was. Obviously the concept of personal space was lost on them if they let themselves get so close to a stranger. When he caught a glimpse of silver hair and silver eyes he relaxed instead and went back to staring at his phone.

“Hello, Seta-senpai,” he said calmly as he scrolled down through the notifications from his food blog. His thumb flicked upwards three times before his head whipped back up and his eyes widened in surprise. “S-Seta-senpai! What are you doing here, I thought-”

“Got called in to help with the new Joker confession,” Souji answered. “They said that maybe having an outside perspective on the case would prove useful. Nobody's sure how long Joker will stay here obviously, but I'll be providing help while I can.” Akechi chuckled softly to himself and slid his phone into his pocket. Seeing Souji was a rare treat, even with their occasionally overlapping professions, and Akechi always made sure to give Souji his full attention when they had the chance to meet.

“The extra help will be nice, admittedly,” Akechi hummed absently. “And it will be nice to see you more often as well. You're always so busy. I hate it.” Souji scoffed and reached up to scratch at the back of his neck gently.

“Yeah, well...law enforcement is a pretty demanding job. You knew this when you decided to get into the trade, Goro,” Souji pointed out. He watched Akechi make a face at that and couldn't help the snort that came out. “You still have a problem with me calling you Goro?”

“Of course I do. It doesn't feel right,” he muttered quietly. “You taught me a lot. It doesn't feel right for you to be so relaxed with me. I-”

“We can continue this conversation elsewhere, Goro. I don't want to hold the line up any longer than we already have,” Souji interrupted, bringing a hand up to point out the fact that the line in front of them had dissipated down to just one person. Akechi shot Souji a pointed glare before hurrying forward and deciding what he wanted to eat.

He was in the mood for something sweet, which was why he came to this place. It was a simple crepe stand he had stumbled across one bleary, rainy afternoon about three months ago, and it arguably had the most delicious sweets Akechi had ever tasted in his life. He had always been told that the most back-alley locations tended to have the best food, and he was beginning to believe that philosophy a little more each day. Eventually he settled on a chocolate eclair with extra whipped cream and reached into his coat to fish his wallet out.

“I'll have the same thing, and be paying for both of us,” Souji cut in suddenly. Akechi turned to glare at him, and felt himself get a little more frustrated when the only response Souji gave was to grin at him and pull out his own wallet. “Let me do this. It's been what, six months since the last time we saw each other?”

“Shut up, Seta-senpai,” Akechi huffed and pulled his phone out. No new messages. He absently tapped on the thread he had with Ryuji and read through them all.

_Are you okay Ryuyu? Do you want to try and meet up after you get out of school today?_

_I'm worried. Please let me know you're okay._

_Ryuyu you haven't messaged me all morning. I'm really starting to worry. I'll come to your apartment if I have to._

_Are you at school? Please answer me._

“What's with that look on your face?” Akechi squeaked and jumped in surprise before tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“N-nothing. Don't...don't worry about it,” Akechi whispered. “It's something stupid.”

“Are you sure it's something stupid? That look on your face says otherwise,” Souji pointed out. He accepted the sweets with a quick “Thank you” and began gently guiding Akechi over to sit at a table tucked in the far corner away from prying ears and prying eyes. “What's bothering you?”

“It's nothing, Seta-senpai,” Akechi argued as he reached for the bag and his eclair. When Souji snatched the bag away to keep him from getting it he pouted and huffed at him. “Seta-senpai.”

“Call me Souji and I'll give it to you,” he argued. Akechi glared in frustration and leaned back to cross his arms with a huff. “Come on, Goro. I know you're trying to stay detached from people but you can at least grant me this one little thing.”

“Sh-shut up,” Akechi muttered again, eyes turned to the side and a very gentle flush on his face. Souji's lit up in understanding, and he chuckled softly as he set the bag down onto the table. Immediately Akechi snatched it over to his chest and dug into the bag for his sweet.

“You have a crush on someone, don't you?” Souji teased. “Is it your friend you've mentioned before?”

“No!” Akechi snapped with more venom than he honestly needed. It was the most emotive Souji had probably seen him, and it made him sit back in his chair in surprise. Akechi blinked, obviously just as shocked at his own behavior, before clearing his throat and sinking down into his chair. “I...I mean no. It's not him. He's just a friend of mine.”

“...There's a story, I feel, would be good to share with you right now,” Souji said as he fished his own treat out. He took a small bite and seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments before he found his words. “Back before I moved in with my uncle permanently, I stayed with him for a year. There was a...wild rabbit. That lived there. He was surly and independent, but he always greeted me excitedly no matter how long we had been separated. He had this talent. No matter how silly the idea, everyone around him seemed to get caught up in his tempo. Every minute I spent with this rabbit I cherished. They're some of my favorite memories, honestly.”

“...What happened?” Akechi asked quietly.

“I forgot what happens when you leave rabbits alone,” Souji answered slowly. “My parents made me come back to finish out high school with them. When I went back to my uncle's permanently I found out that someone had realized just how loyal that rabbit was to me, and that apparently he had waited patiently for me to come back. Someone didn't like that...so they lured my rabbit off somewhere and tore him to pieces.”

A hand reached up to rub at the broken orange headphones Souji had around his neck; Akechi had never seen him without the gaudy accessory on, and every attempt at asking why he wore them had been deflected before. But everything suddenly clicked into place, and Akechi's back straightened in surprise. He had noticed the red streaks in the bright plastic and assumed it was part of some design that had been rubbed off after years of use. Now he wasn't entirely sure about that.

“...Seta-senpai, you aren't talking about a rabbit. Are you?” he asked. A thumb paused at the corner of the left headphone and Souji fell silent for a few brief seconds before he looked up to Akechi with a smile.

“Let's just say I encourage you to take care of your hobby as well as your life outside of it,” he said. Akechi watched that smile grow wider and felt a pang in his heart as he realized that Souji obviously had horrible memories of his own to deal with, and this conversation must have brought them back full force. The smile was likely an attempt at hiding how affected by this he was. “But enough about my rabbit. Why don't you tell me about your puppy?”

“Puppy...?” Akechi felt a frown settle onto his face as he thought. Was puppy the right way to describe Ryuji? He felt it was. Enthusiastic, excitable, loyal almost to a fault sometimes...and completely unaware of just how adorable he actually was to boot. “He's...he's a good puppy. For the longest of times nobody even knew I had one, but something came up and I had to take him with me in public. Being under the prying eyes of other people seems to be something he doesn't like. Too shy.”

“Pets are usually shy at first. Give him time, I'm sure he'll warm up to you if he hasn't already,” Souji promised. Akechi nodded, a nagging feeling settling up inside his heart.

“...There's also this damn cat that's been following me around for...quite a while honestly,” he added. Souji didn't miss the slight pout and confusion in his voice as he spoke, and a quiet chuckle slipped out. “I met him one time and he seems to be almost obsessed with me. He's even managed to sneak into my bed a few times.” Souji leaned back in surprise again at this. “And I feel awful, saying this, but I think I've gotten attached to the little bastard like I have my puppy. Not the same way, but obviously ”

“...I see. Does the cat not like dogs...?”

“Oh no. Far from it. See the cat has only just met my puppy, and he's already bared his fangs to protect him from other animals that want to hurt him with fantastic results,” Akechi said calmly, trusting Souji completely to understand what he was getting at and who he was referring to. Souji didn't disappoint, as after just a few brief seconds his eyes widened a bit in shock.

“...Goro you're kidding me right?” he asked. “Really? _Him_?” Akechi shrugged in answer and smiled a little bit as he finally took a bite from his eclair. His entire posture screamed 'smug asshole.' “I feel that maybe you're playing a dangerous game here. And that you should reconsider what you're doing. The cat is dangerous. Very. Dangerous.”

“The cat is a domesticated fluffball who I can make do just about anything I wanted by asking for it. He's only dangerous to people he doesn't like. I think the two of you would get along wonderfully,” Akechi said. “Maybe one day you could meet him. He'd probably warm up to you pretty quickly.” Souji shook his head slowly from side to side and sighed.

“If you say so.” Akechi chuckled and tapped a foot against Souji's shin underneath the table.

“Don't act like it's the end of the world, Seta-senpai. Having him in my bed is fun, but that's as far as I'll let things go,” he hummed. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and when he checked the message his world tilted sideways.

_There's something I had left out of the video that you need to know. Someone paid Kamoshida to break Ryuji's leg._

“Goro? What's wrong?” Souji set his sweet down and leaned in closer to Akechi now. His eyes had been glued to his screen for almost a full minute now, and their previous conversation hit a sudden and worrisome standstill. He very slowly reached forward to tap on the hand Akechi till had resting on the table and jerked back when Akechi snatched it away and jerked his head up in surprise.

“...Huh? Shit, did I zone out...? My apologies Seta-senpai, but I...” Akechi took a deep, slow breath to try and calm himself down and keep his world in focus. “I just received some very distressing news and I think...I may need a moment to process this. Could you...?”

“Of course. Take all the time you need,” Souji said, leaning back in his chair and forcing himself to relax. Akechi pulled his phone up as he stepped away from the table and settled himself into a back corner to call Akira.

“Akechi I'm sorry. I didn't think it was fair to broadcast it everywhere and-”

“You couldn't have told me in person? This isn't something you tell people over text, Akira!” he hissed, a hand running roughly through his hair to pull at the strands.

“To be fair this isn't something you normally have to tell people, either, but I wasn't sure when I'd be able to get you on the phone,” Akira admitted as he leaned against the chain link fence surrounding the roof of the school. He knew he should technically be in his class studying right now but this was the only free period he would probably get all day, so he decided it was the perfect moment to tell Akechi that his best friend had his leg broken because someone paid a pervert to do it. One problem Akira was quick to admit was that he didn't always necessarily have the best tact. That problem was glaringly obvious in his conversation right now. “I tried to get it out of him but even after taking his dick off I couldn't get a name out of him. I hate to say it but there's a good chance we'll never actually know who it was.”

“Fuck Akira, you're kidding me. What the hell!? You should have taken longer!” Akechi bowed his head in a quick apology when someone standing near him scowled at him and he turned more into the corner with a huff.

“I'm sorry but I got pissed, I wasn't thinking straight. I was real goddamn sloppy and I know it. I should have taken longer and I normally would have but Ryuji was involved and-”

“I know. I'm not happy with the outcome completely, but I understand your frustration and rage. Perhaps I can use my connections with the police to get answers. I'm not sure how, but I'm wanting to remain optimistic about things right now,” Akechi sighed. “This isn't how I picture today going, you know.”

“Yeah. I can imagine so. I sure as hell didn't expect to spend most of my day waiting for the police to call me and interview me. Don't know how much longer I've got before I have to head back in though,” he admitted.

“Right. Is there anything else I should know that you kept out of the video?” Akechi asked.

“Nope. The names I cut out are for their safety and their privacy. I would have cut Ryuji's out too, but...his name needed to be left in for obvious reasons. I dropped Kamoshida's video collection off at the police station this morning before anyone got there, so hopefully they'll be able to look through it all,” Akira sighed as squatted down to get a better look at the streets below. Akechi made a sound from the back of his throat, which made Akira pause. “...Akechi?”

“Nobody mentioned any videos when I went to the station this morning,” Akechi said slowly. “I'm not necessarily surprised, as I am just a detective, but..still. I figure there would have been at least some mention of it among the others on the force.”

“Hmm. You'd think so. Almost seems kinda fishy,” Akira said as he straightened back up again. “I'd almost think someone there was involved in all of this, but nobody there has any ties with Ryuji I don't think.”

“Nobody even knew who he was until this morning. Word traveled quickly about the confession,” Akechi said.

“Yeah. Everybody's talking about it here at school today too. Thank good Yuuki gave me an alibi,” he sighed. “Look I gotta go, I don't wanna be gone when they call for me. Just wanted to let you know about Ryuji. You're his best friend after all; figured I should at least tell you.”

“We can figure something out about this together. For now get back to class and try to blend in. Hard, I know, but for once in your life try,” Akechi huffed. He heard Akira chuckle and the sound of a heavy door being pulled open.

“Don't worry. I'll blend in pretty well. Talk to you after school.” Akechi started to ask what Akira meant before the line went dead. Akira had hung up on him without giving him a chance to ask anything else. Akechi quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket and returned back to the table with Souji.

“My apologies. Someone told me something very upsetting about my puppy,” Akechi said as he slid back into his seat. What little appetite he had before had thrown itself out the window during his conversation with Akira. Souji nodded in understanding and reached down to nudge Akechi's eclair closer to him. If the past three years had taught him anything, it was that Akechi sucked at taking care of himself. Souji couldn't count the number of times he had been forced to feed the brat just to make sure he didn't starve because he refused to eat. When Akechi hesitated Souji pushed the sweet forward a little bit more. “Seta-senpai...”

“Eat, Goro. You need your energy. Don't let yourself wilt away. Your friend...Ryuji, wasn't it? I don't think he'd be happy to see you starving yourself,” Souji said sternly. Akechi opened his mouth to argue but relented at the stern look on Souji's face now. He hadn't seen that look in almost three years, and it brought back painful memories of cuts on his hands and blood splatters over his clothes. For a brief moment Akechi was looking at the Perfectionist in his glory days, and that realization made him calmly pick up the eclair to start nibbling on it. Satisfied that Akechi would listen now Souji let his expression relax and sat back in his chair again.

Akechi's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he swore softly. He expected it to be another message from Akira, but instead a smile spread up on his lips.

_Ryuyu  
Go-chan, why don't you meet me at the ramen shop near Shujin after school? We need to hang out as much as we can before you get busy!_

The smile grew wider as he typed out a quick reply.

_I'd love to Ryuyu. Can't wait to see you again._

For a brief moment he considered putting a hard at the end of the message, but decided against it at the last minute. He wasn't sure how Ryuji would take that, and he didn't want to cause any awkwardness or uncomfortable tension between the two of them. Instead he sent the message as it was before tucking his phone away. When he looked up Souji was very obviously trying not to smile or laugh at him.

“...It was Ryuyu,” Akechi muttered and tried to push away the blush he felt.”I'll be busy after work today. He wants me to meet him for ramen. I promised I would stay late but perhaps I can sweet talk my way out of it this time.”

“Oh, so you can act like a normal person sometimes?”

“Hush.”

 

“Wow, this place is even better than I thought it would be,” Yuuki chuckled as he pulled in a mouthful of noodles. Beside him Ryuji grinned and slurped up a long string of them himself.

“Pl'ce r'lly kn'ws h'w t' m'ke st'nff t'st g'd,” Ryuji said. Akira chuckled and reached over to gently tap his arm with his free hand.

“Maybe wait until your mouth is full before you try talking?” Akira suggested, which earned a slight blush from Ryuji and what Akira could vaguely understands as swear words. It made him laugh again and take another bite of his ramen. Suddenly Akira could hear footsteps behind them moving towards them, and he turned his head ever so slightly to see who it was. When his eyes locked with the newcomer's he quickly turned back to his ramen and pretended not to have seen them.

“Oh. I wish you had told me we would have company,” they hummed. Yuuki brought his head up and immediately his eyes widened in surprise. A soft gasp escaped his throat as well.

“You're Akechi Goro! That detective prince, right? Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked, completely ignoring (or maybe not understanding) what Akechi had said. Ryuji immediately jumped up out of his seat and threw himself at Akechi for a tight bear hug.

“Go-chan! I'm so glad you're here! I hope you don't mind us meeting here. And uhhh...'m sorry I didn't tell you about Aki-chan and Yuuki. I...honestly wanted you to meet 'em. Wasn't sure you'd come if you thought we wouldn't be alone,” Ryuji admitted, ducking eye contact with Akechi now in embarrassment. “I know you have an image to keep, and well...reporters have been tryin' ta follow me around all day...” Akechi chuckled at that and slid into the seat across from Ryuji easily.

“Ryuyu, after our very public celebration last night I would have thought you would know I don't care anymore,” he said as his hands folded on the table before him. “You're my best friend, and you have been for years. I...don't really think it's fair that we have to hide our friendship. I still don't understand why you think it necessary. Unless...” Without thinking Akira reached to his left and swatted at his shoulder.

“Hey. We're not thinking about sad stuff right now. Ryuyu doesn't need that,” he said, and Akechi immediately bowed his head in apology and pulled his gloves off to stuff in his pocket. Next came his coat, which he carefully draped over the back of the chair he sat in and Akira reached down to straighten out without really thinking. Yuuki eyed the two of them from where he sat, pretending he was intently focused on his phone in his hands instead of watching them act as though they've known each other for a long time.

“...Thanks, Aki-chan,” Ryuji said and took his seat again. “Oh. Uhhh...this is Aki-chan. He's the one that I talked about to you. The friend I made. The other one is my friend, Mishima Yuuki. I met him last year. He's...” Ryuji made a face, biting nervously at his lip now. “I can't really say anything else. I don't really want to talk about it, anyway. Can we drop this please?”

“Of course, Ryuyu,” Akechi said. He then turned to Akira and smiled. “It's nice to finally meet the person Ryuji's been talking about for the past two weeks. I almost got a little jealous, thinking I had been replaced.” Ryuji laughed at that and shook his head before leaning forward to tap Akechi's arm.

“C'mon. Nobody could replace you as my best friend, Go-chan. We've known each other for so long, it wouldn't be right,” he said. “Now wait here. I'll go get your ramen.” He slid out of his seat and hobbled off, leaving the other three to sit together in comfortable silence.

“...Akira, ummm...you weren't...overwhelmed when the cops came to school today, were you...?” Yuuki asked nervously. “I've never dealt with police before today. I was shaking so bad, I wonder if they thought I was involved.”

“Nah. After I was arrested back home I learned pretty quickly how to handle them,” Akira said and shrugged gently. “I mean, I know it was just a couple interviews, but it was enough for me. The police back there were pretty aggressive, so the ones here almost seemed like kids.”

“Most of the police here don't much care to actually do their jobs either, I've noticed,” Akechi huffed and leaned forward onto the table. His elbows brushed against Akira's gently, and instead of jerking away neither of them seemed to mind the contact and stayed where they were. “If it means doing work, they tend to avoid it. It's so frustrating honestly.”

“That's because I'm pretty sure the police department is sitting in someone's pockets,” Akira huffed and took a drink out of his glass. “It's how things were back in my hometown. Things don't seem to change much from place to place it seems.”

“I wouldn't know much about that, since I've never left home before,” Yuuki said and poked at his phone absently. “Ummm...Yusuke wanted me to apologize to you as well. For how snippy he was when you two first met. He didn't mean to sound so harsh with you-”

“Yuuki. It's fine. Really. I'm pretty sure I would have acted the same way in that situation. I'm just glad things didn't get violent between us. Yusuke looks like I could breathe on him and he'd break,” Akira chuckled.

“Yeah...he does look pretty underfed, doesn't he...? He says his teacher always leaves him money for food, but I don't think he does. Or maybe Yusuke spends all of it on art supplies instead...” Akechi straightened up suddenly and looked over to Yuuki now.

“Yusuke...do you mean Kitagawa? I see him around at Kosei from time to time. He looks unbearably thin. I've tried to feed him a few times but he always says that he has enough. I didn't know you were friends,” he said. Yuuki flushed a gentle, soft red and stared down at his phone intently.

“...We aren't. He's actually my boyfriend,” Yuuki whispered, He glanced up to make sure Ryuji wasn't in ear shot and looked back over to Akechi. “I'm sure you've seen Joker's most recent confession. Right?” When Akechi nodded he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “...I was one of the kids whose names were taken out. The one he was blackmailing into keeping quiet and helping clean everything up. I was the one who cleaned Ryuji up and got him to class every time Kamoshida got to him.”

“Yuuki, this isn't normally something you bring up to random strangers-” Akira started, but Yuuki held his hand up to silence his friend.

“I know, Akira. But Ryuji talked about Akechi a lot. And honestly telling someone about this makes things a little more tolerable,” Yuuki said. “I need to open up to somebody about this, and you...well you know everything already.” He set his phone down on the table gently and picked at the skin near his nails gently. “...I'm sorry, Akechi.”

“...Why are you apologizing to me, Mishima?” he asked quietly. “You didn't do anything.”

“That's just it. _I didn't do anything._ I could have said something, I could told someone but I didn't. I was scared of Kamoshida and couldn't...I couldn't even do something as simple as keep him safe. If I had just said something sooner then Ryuji...”

“Mishima. You were being threatened. It's no surprise you didn't say anything. I...honestly don't blame you,” Akechi said quietly, a sudden flash of hands on his arms and a voice he had trusted telling him not to fight or he would be hurt hitting him and making his fists tighten painfully. “You did what you thought was best for you and Yusuke. I really can't blame you. You don't owe me an apology. You don't owe Ryuyu an apology either. He obviously doesn't hold what happened against you, if he invited you here for ramen today. Please don't hate yourself for this. Would Yusuke want you upset over something like this?” Yuuki's face scrunched painfully at that, and his head dropped slightly.

“No. I don't think he would. He knew Kamoshida had been blackmailing me, and he would constatly blame himself for it, even if he wasn't the one who kissed me first,” Yuuki chuckled softly. “He apologized all the time to me and begged me to forgive him. He's such a sweet guy...I couldn't let Kamoshida hurt him or ruin him. I could have cared less what he did to me, but when Yusuke got pulled into the middle of it I couldn't take it. You understand, right Akechi?”

“I understand entirely, Yuuki. As awful as it may sound, I'm glad Kamoshida was killed. Ryuyu is my best friend, and I had no clue this was happening to him. I know as a detective and a part of the police force I shouldn't condone killings like this, but a part of me believes that some people deserve it. And Kamoshida was absolutely one of them. What he was doing to Ryuyu was disgusting, and I wouldn't have been satisfied even if he had been put in jail.” A dark look had settled over his face now, and it took Akira tapping his foot under the table for him to realize it, and for him to school his features to their normal expression. “Of course I can't say this outright, so I hope this will stay between the three of us.”

“Of course,” Akira said with what Akechi could recognize as a knowing smile as he took another drink. Yuuki let his eyes flick between the two of them again as Ryuji set a bowl and glass down in front of Akechi.

“Sorry it took so long. Hope you're still hungry,” he chuckled and slid back down into his seat. Immediately Akira reached over and began picking out the green onions from Akechi's bowl. Yuuki's eyes narrowed ever so slightly before widening in complete and utter understanding. His mouth dropped slightly in surprise, forcing him to sit back a bit and try to process everything.

“...Aki-chan? What are you doing?” Ryuji asked. Akira paused with his chopsticks halfway to Akechi's bowl and blinked in surprise before clearing his throat and pulling his hand back.

“Oh. Sorry. One of my friends back home didn't usually eat the onions, so he always gave them to me. Force of habit, I guess. You don't mind, do you...?” he asked. Akechi laughed and shook his head slowly from side to side.

“No. I actually don't like green onions all that much, so you're more than welcome to take them,” he said and pushed his bowl over closer to Akira. “Happy coincidence. If you hadn't started taking them I would have asked Ryuyu if he wanted them.”

Of course it wasn't a 'force of habit' that Akira began snatching the onions out of Akechi's bowl. Surprisingly he remembered this little tidbit during one of their post-sex conversations before they went their separate ways for the night. Akechi had mentioned off-hand that he didn't like green onions, and that if Akira tried to invite him somewhere that served the disgusting vegetables he would personally make Akira's life a living hell for the next week as payback.

Yuuki felt a slight shiver go down his spine at the realization of just who he was sitting across from. When Akira didn't try to fight him about taking the DVD's, and when he heard Joker reference them along with the blackmailing and threats of murder, it had cemented his understanding that this quiet boy who had transferred to Shujin on false assault charges was none other than the Joker.

He had acted far too familiar with Akechi for two people who had only just met, and Akira could have very easily made some mention of them having already met before this to Ryuji to avoid having to pretend that they weren't already acquainted with each other. Apparently Ryuji was just oblivious enough to completely avoid or ignore the subtle slip-ups the two of them had made with each other.  
Yuuki had also made the personal observation that Kamoshida's calling card seemed just a touch out of character. Like someone else had written the card and Joker had simply copypasted the letters in their place. A few other people on his threads he read through had speculated someone else had written this calling card, and maybe it wasn't even really the true Joker who posted the confession video. A few others thought someone had helped him with this, which meant that Joker knew somebody else who was likely a serial killer, and that left only one possibility.

Crow.

Yuuki didn't find it too far-fetched that Crow could have helped Joker write this calling card. The murder took place so quickly after Akira transferred, and normally Joker had longer to plan for his kills than just two weeks. The only reason he had come to the realization that Akira was Joker in the first place was studying his mannerisms up close, listening to his voice and noticing his posture and reactions to certain topics discussed. With how severe things had gotten for Ryuji, Yuuki wasn't surprised to see Joker strike so soon, and he wasn't surprised to find someone else had helped him with the card. Which meant it had to be someone that Akira was extremely close to and comfortable with. And whoever that person was, almost assuredly, knew of Akira's persona as Joker and had to be okay with this fact.

And it seemed that the great detective fit this bill to a T, meaning Yuuki couldn't shake the very real hunch and possibility that Ryuji, somehow, had befriended two justice killers and was none the wiser to this fact. Akira's eyes locked with Yuuki's suddenly, and the look that he was given was almost enough to make his blood run cold. He had nothing to fear from either of these two, but the understanding that they had killed people still made him a little fearful. In an attempt to calm himself down and keep his mouth occupied so he wouldn't say anything stupid he began shoving noodles into his mouth and staring at the broth more intently than he had stared at anything in his life.

His phone vibrated in his hand, providing a very welcome distraction, and when he glanced down at it his face heated up and he let out a strangled noise. Yusuke had sent him a picture of his dick standing straight and a single slender hand wrapped around the base to squeeze it. The only text on the picture were three little heart emojis, but that was all Yuuki needed to bail.

“Sorry, Yusuke's horny and I need to go give him a blowjob,” he said quickly, filter fried away between the realization that he had just met Crow and just how brazen Yusuke was for sending him this picture when he knew Yuuki would be with others. Ryuji choked on his food at Yuuki's words as he hurried off. Akechi and Akira just stared at him before sharing knowing glances between each other and leaning over to help Ryuji try to breathe. Once Ryuji had calmed down and managed to suck in a few lungfuls of air he shoved his face into his hands and groaned in embarrassment.

“I can't believe Yuuki said that so casually,” he whined, and Akira chuckled quietly as he dragged Yuuki's bowl over closer to him to finish off. “That was embarrassing as hell!”

“I've heard worse,” he said and flicked his eyes over to Akechi calmly while Ryuji's face was still covered. In response Akechi stuck his tongue out at Akira and smiled before finally digging into his food and humming softly in appreciation. “I think Akechi likes the ramen.”

“Good. Wasn't sure he'd want to eat here or not,” Ryuji admitted. “It's pretty public. I'm surprised that none of the stupid reporters followed us here. 'specially with Go-chan here.” Akira set his chopsticks down and leaned back in his chair slowly, a smile on his face and a hand settling onto his stomach.

“I think taking the back streets helped keep them from finding us,” he admitted. “Told you I knew what I was doing~” Akechi laughed softly at that and brought a hand up to cover his mouth again.

“I'm glad. I'm tired of constantly getting hounded by reporters. I've been roped into an interview at a TV station later this week, and I'm certain I'll be forced to discuss the Joker case. Things always get busier for me after things like this, and as much as I've discussed this case and the Crow case, it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about with me,” he sighed. Very gently Akira bumped their shoulders together, a warm smile coming up to rest on his lips.

“Just means you're doing your job, right?” he asked, and Akechi sighed again, this one longer and much more depressing.

“I wish the rest of the police department carried that sentiment with them,” he whispered. Akira had to give him credit; Akechi played the role of the disheartened detective trying to make a break in a very serious case terrifyingly well, and if he weren't personally involved in the affair he might genuinely believe Akechi wanted to catch the two justice killers and let them taste real justice. Thankfully Ryuji seemed to buy his acting without question, as he quickly leaned over to pat his arm reassuringly.

“They're stupid for bein' so mean to you,” he said and dropped a few more noodles into Akechi's bowl from his own. “Ain't your fault you can't seem to figure anything out about those two. The little bit I know I only learned from people talkin' at school a lot once they started up.”

Akechi suddenly ducked his head into his bowl and swore softly, catching both Akira's and Ryuji's attention. If he wasn't wrong, he could just see a reporter that had been harassing him for the last month hanging around near the entrance and trying to peek inside.

“Hey...Ryuyu, I think we should leave,” Akira muttered under his breath. “Pretty sure I see a reporter from here. Don't move or act like you know she's here. If we're lucky she'll get distracted enough for us to slip out of here.” Ryuji frowned and set his chopsticks down a touch harder than he needed to. Thankfully the loud noise didn't draw any attention.

“Man, this is bullshit. I can't even fuckin' enjoy some time out with my friends now. Maybe Kamoshida shouldn'ta died. Woulda made things easier for me,” he huffed. The look Akechi gave him made his heart hurt in his chest. “I didn't mean that, Go-chan. Just frustrated is all.”

“I understand,” he said once his mouth was empty. Akira calmly slid out of his chair and left Akechi and Ryuji sitting alone together. “I wish you didn't have to deal with these idiots myself. But I suppose this just means you've gotten a taste of my life now, doesn't it?”

“Definitely didn't want it, but...yeah. Guess I have,” Ryuji chuckled. Akira came over and gently tapped his shoulder before leaning down to where only Ryuji and Akechi could hear him.

“Talked to the owner and explained the situation. He's gonna let us duck out the back, but we gotta move fast,” he whispered. “Already paid for everything. Come on. We'll walk you home together.” Ryuji began to protest but now it was Akira's turn to give him a look that left no room for arguments. Akechi's attention returned to where he'd seen the reporter to find her fiddling with something in her bag at her side.

“Now. She's not looking and I doubt anyone else will care,” he hissed and slid to his feet. Ryuji followed after him, the trio quietly slipping out through the back exit of the shop and finding themselves in an alley that Akira vaguely remembered. It took every ounce of self control he had not to burst into laughter; the face he made must have given him away because Akechi shot him a questioning look .He simply shook his head and motioned for the two of them to follow him off through a few more back alleys and side streets until Akechi took the lead to guide them to Ryuji's apartment.

They were halfway up the steps when Ryuji suddenly stopped, hand squeezing the metal railing painfully and tight enough to turn his knuckles white. It took Akechi a moment to realize Ryuji's shoulders were shaking with barely-contained sobs.

“Ryuyu what's wrong?” he asked. Immediately Akira was pushing under his arm and coming to stand beside Ryuji with a pensive expression on his features.

“I...I just realized I ain't keepin' this place,” he said. He sniffled, long and ugly, and wiped at his eyes. “I dunno what I'll do now...this month's paid up but I ain't got a job. I ain't got a place I could go either.” A hand settled on his back whose he wasn't sure, and the pressure made him break down and shove his face into Akira's chest to continue crying. “I d-don't wanna end up h-homeless!”

“You won't, Ryuyu. Akechi and I will do everything we can to make sure you have a roof over your head and food in your stomach, okay?” Akira promised, hand slowly sliding up and down Ryuji's back to comfort him. “Will you please trust us?” The blond nodded and hiccuped quietly before pulling away and wiping at his eyes.

“S-sorry you guys. Didn't mean t-to cry like this,” he said. Akechi shushed him by pulling him in for a hug and squeezing him tight enough to crack his back a bit.

“Don't apologize. You've been through a lot, you have every right to break down like this. Do you want us to stay with you tonight and keep you company?” he asked. Ryuji shook his head and very carefully pushed Akechi away from him.

“N-no. I just...need to be alone for t-today. I'll text you if I ch-change my mi-mind though,” he promised. “Thanks for comin' by the way. I wanted you to me-meet Aki-chan, and I'm really glad you t-two get along pretty well already.” Akira smiled, and Akechi laughed, and Ryuji sputtered a little bit as he tried to catch his breath from his brief but violent breakdown. He sniffled again and waved to both of them as he hurried up his stairs. “See you tomorrow at school, Aki-chan!”

“See you, Ryuyu!” Akira called back, and once the apartment door had shut he turned to Akechi with a raised eyebrow and the beginnings of a smirk on his face. “I think I did pretty well today.”

“Other than remembering my half-asleep half-assed conversation about green onions and very nearly causing that Mishima boy to grow suspicious,” Akechi growled as he turned to head down the stairs towards the street. Akira barked out a laughe and followed behind him.

“Oh no, Yuuki knows who we are~ He's obsessed with justice killers and the one that gave me Kamoshida's DVD collection. Pretty sure he put two and two together already,” he pointed out and began calmly strolling down the street back towards Leblanc. Behind him Akechi seemed to be flapping his mouth before following after Akira with rage and contempt in his voice.

“How are you so okay with this fact! For fuck's sake Akira, that's dangerous! How do you know you can trust him!?” he snapped. Akira shrugged the shoulder closest to Akechi and readjusted the glasses on his face. Akechi knew by now they were nothing but cheap fakes to give himself that good boy look he'd decided to adopt upon moving here.

“He gave me an alibi for last night. He gave me Kamoshida's collection. He told me about Shiho and Ann and himself. He tried to warn me off of investigating Ryuji and Kamoshida for Ryuji's safety. I'm pretty sure our secret is safe with him,” Akira said. “And if I'm wrong, well...who's gonna believe that _Joker_ is a goddamn sixteen year old kid, huh? That would mean I started killing at fourteen, and fourteen year olds aren't careful enough to know how to keep from getting caught.” Akira flashed Akechi a knowing smile at that and kicked at a pebble in his path. “And if anyone believes you're Crow then they're dumb.”

“...I suppose you have a point,” Akechi conceded. Worry and fear still laced his voice, and in an effort to distract him Akira pulled him in for a sudden but heated kiss. His hands wandered down south almost immediately to dip two fingers under the fabric of Akechi's pants and underwear to rub at his hips sensually. “Now we have a bit of free time, and I'm horny and bored. So why don't we head to your place and fuck?”

“No, Kurusu. We cannot go to my place and fuck. Please stop touching me,” he said and backed away from Akira calmly. “I cannot risk anyone seeing us together. The only reason I didn't punch you for that kiss was because I know nobody can see us. I do still have an image to maintain.”

“Right,” Akira whined and shoved his hands in his pockets. “...Hey Akechi. We gotta find a way to get the news off of Ryuyu. We can't let them keep bothering him like this.” Akechi hummed in agreement and turned to finally head towards his own apartment.

“We can discuss this a later date, Kurusu. For now I would like to get home and sleep.” He continued on his way, something nagging at the pit of his stomach, until he finally stopped. “Hey Kurusu?”

“Yeah?”

“...Thank you.” He could hear the other snort as he finally began walking off in the other direction.

“No need to thank me for being a decent person, you know.”

 

Akechi woke up the next morning without the usual painful crick in his neck and tension in his shoulders that his fitful sleep always seemed to bring him. For once, it seemed, he had been gifted with a blissful and restful sleep. His stomach rumbled to remind him that he needed to eat before heading off to school today, and apparently he was in the mood for something he could actually sit down and eat. There wasn't much in his cabinets for him to chew on unfortunately. He decided to instead stop by a shop after he left to find something light enough for his stomach to handle today.

For the first time in a long while he actually sat at his desk and through a lecture like a normal student. He wasn't sure what it was about, but he thought it may have been a discussion about a short story involving a whore working for a brothel trying to get revenge. A few of his classmates spoke to him, all of them trying and failing to get his autograph. One of the girls from the front row even came up to his desk between classes and left a love letter when she thought he wasn't paying attention and digging in his bag for something. When he sat up and saw it he very calmly took the letter and walked over to the trash can to toss it in. The look on the poor girl's face would have been enough to make any other person feel guilty but Akechi brushed it off and returned to his seat without a word to her.

When he stepped into the police station there was a very noticeable and very heavy tension in the air that put added pressure on his shoulders and made him hesitate just inside the doors. Deciding to brush it off as frustration with another Joker kill he made his way to Sae's office to speak with her about investigating the principal and looking for any connections with Kamoshida and his abuse of Ryuji. Something thudded softly in her office when he stopped in front of the door to straighten his coat out and made him hesitate for a brief moment before stepping inside.

“Sae-san, I-” Her head jerked up from the TV in front of her with a look of fear and surprise that immediately put Akechi on edge and made his hand tighten on the doorknob.

“Akechi you should-”

“Goro, save me please!” Akechi's blood ran cold, and bile began to rise up rapidly in the back of his throat. He swallowed to keep it down as his head jerked to the side instinctively from the sound of a slap ringing out in the small room he stood in. For a moment he wasn't standing in Sae's office, but instead someone else's and being told that he needed to learn some fucking respect before he had it beaten into him with as much force as was needed and deemed necessary. The next he was nursing a bruised rib and a busted lip, and the next everything was ringing and suddenly he was worried he would be deaf for the rest of his life now. Pain flared up from his side at the memories as though the wounds were fresh and the past three years of his life had been a pleasant lie told to himself as a sort of bedtime story.

“Shut up you little bitch! The hell are you calling for a _guy_ to come save you? You're just a little bitch after all!” Hearing Kamoshida's voice combined with the sound of Sae scrambling to shut off the DVD player snapped him back to the present and reminded him that he wasn't there. Not right now, anyway. When his eyes met Sae's her lips pursed tightly and she forced a breath out through her nose. A hand came up to fidget with the ornament in her hair as she collected her thoughts in an attempt to decide what would be best for her to say right now. Eventually she seemed to decide on an answer.

“Maybe it's not actually so bad that he's gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : Serial Killer Profile: The Perfectionist  
> Real Name: Souji Seta  
> Occupation: Police Detective in Inaba  
> Status: retired  
> Official Kills: 8  
> Signatures: Making the body presentable after death to allow for proper grieving, perfect concise cuts even on the most violent kills  
> Danger to Public: High (none now)  
> Targets: Primarily people who preyed on vulnerable people, e.g abusive partners  
> Method: He would stalk his targets first to figure out the best time to off them, causes of death were varied. His peculiarity was that he would always fix up the body after, sewing up wounds and fixing hair and make up if they had any on because even if he was killing them for what he felt was a just cause, the families still deserved a proper mourning.  
> Retirement: His final kill was the Inaba Ripper, who had killed his boyfriend Yosuke. The Ripper happened to be someone he knew, and the end result was that Souji vowed never to kill as the Perfectionist again. Nowadays he still helps out by bringing people to justice on the legal side of things as a detective under his uncle, though occasionally he's lent out to other stations for his insight. He also works as Crow's mentor, when the need arises.


	9. Crow's Origin Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where you guys finally get to figure out what happened to make Akechi go into killing, and what made him first take up the name Crow to become the justice killer he is today~ I almost considered posting this as its own side story, but I decided against it because I didn't want to make people mad or upset. ;-; Semi-graphic descriptions of suicide and etc., as this chapter references Akechi's mother's suicide quite a few times. Also, another profile at the end~!

The rain poured down in waves, felt like knives stabbing down with the cold November air biting into the skin together. Thunder boomed in the sky like a warning shot; a grim reminder that no matter how far Akechi ran or how well he tried to hide he would always be found. He didn't know why he had decided to come so far out but he had. The boonies were far different from the packed streets and cloying smog of Tokyo. Everything felt different here. Fresh, almost. He chalked it up to the change of scenery and the stress of his father sending out everyone he could to find his son looming over his head.

He dropped down to his knees in some back alley next to a shuttered store and began to cry. For the first time in years he wanted his mother to come save him, even if he knew full well she wouldn't be able to. She had been dead for the better part of six years now and he had been stuck with his dickbag of a father for two. When Shido had come for him at the orphanage he had been apprehensive but excited; he would be taken in by his father and wouldn't be forced to bounce from home to home. He thought maybe he would finally be able to act like a kid again and grow up to be someone his father could love.

Instead he found himself beaten on the regular and reminded just how worthless he actually was. Constant reminders that it was his fault his mother killed herself and not the strain of dealing with raising a child because his father was more concerned about his political image than keeping a wife and child around. Apparently he had decided that maybe it would have helped him along more, because Shido made it a point to remind Akechi all he would be good for was helping his father climb to the seat of prime minister.

The rain had soaked through his clothes and hair, hiding the tears that rolled down his cheeks onto his knees. He vaguely remembered hearing the storm would probably stick around for a day or two and cursed his luck. Going home was always an option. He could grovel to Shido, apologize for causing problems, and deal with the beatings like he always did. It would hurt for a little bit but he would never run away again, that was for sure.

It took him a moment to realize the rain had stopped falling on him and that someone was now standing in front of him with an umbrella over his head. A strange courtesy from one of Shido's goons, but he figured it was more like whoever this was didn't want to get wet. He cleared his throat and kept his head tucked into his knees as he spoke.

“I'm not going back,” he choked out, surprised at his own conviction and pride in those short words. He expected to be yanked up by his arm and reminded whose brat he actually was, but that never came. Instead whoever it was stepped a bit closer to him until their umbrella was pressed almost against the stone bricking behind him.

“Dude, I dunno what you're talking about, but you really don't need to be out here in this rain.” Akechi's head slowly raised to find himself staring at a young boy, probably not much older than himself, with soft brown hair and bright orange headphones around his neck. His eyes radiated warmth and kindness, and Akechi almost thought they could have been brothers. “C'mon. I'll take you to my friend's place. His uncle's a cop and-”

“No!” Akechi flinched at how harsh his voice sounded and cleared his throat again. Was he already getting sick? Possibly. “No...no cops. I can't go back...” A hand settled into his field of vision, obviously offered to help him stand.

“Alright. Then we won't tell him anything. He's not usually home anyway,” the stranger said and flashed a smile warm enough to burn the chill away from Akechi's skin. Against his better judgment he let himself be pulled to his feet and let a dry jacket be wrapped around his shoulders to help keep him warm. When the stranger began moving Akechi went with him, staying pressed against his side to make sure he stayed out of the rain.

It was now that he realized just how horrible this situation could realistically go. Here he was, out in the boonies, in the middle of a storm, letting himself be led off by a kid who could easily be taking him somewhere he would be hurt and abused and sold off. He knew he was turning into a pretty boy, and he wasn't stupid either. He'd heard stories from some of his father's staunchest supporters about boys being mistaken for girls and sold off anyway for some pervert's enjoyment. As fucked up as it sounded, however, he couldn't really find it in himself to care. If he died, then he died. At least he wouldn't have to put up with Shido anymore.

A grim thought for a thirteen year old boy to have, he realized.

He found himself pulled down a side street towards a cute, traditional home that reminded Akechi a bit of the second family that had adopted him. It left a bitter, acrid taste in his mouth and made him begin to withdraw back into his shell again. The light outside the front door illuminated the path to the door, and when the stranger knocked Akechi instinctively flinched away. He felt almost like he was being dropped off with a new family to live with them for a few months before being sent back for stupid reaons like refusing to listen when his father told him to shut the hell up.

“Hey Yosuke, I-oh. Who's the kid?” Akechi forced his head to raise and found himself staring at soft silver eyes and a concerned look on this person's face. “Did a new family move in and he get lost?” Yosuke's head shook slowly from side to side before he set a hand on Akechi's back to urge him inside and out of the rain finally.

“Nah. I mean maybe? I think he ran away though. When I found him he just said 'I'm not going back' without looking up at me. I think it's happened more than once,” he explained and shut his umbrella to shake it off and leave it just inside the door. “Think he's been out in the rain for a while. He was pretty soaked.”

“If he ran away there's a chance he won't tell us his name, but I would feel bad calling him 'kid' all the time,” the other person said. “And you weren't kidding about him being soaked, either.”

“Could always see if Naoto has anything he could wear,” Yosuke suggested and pulled his shoes off before walking over to settle down at the table in the living room. Akechi stood at the edge of the carpet and tried to keep himself from shivering and giving away just how cold he actually was. He turned his head away to break eye contact with this other person and pulled the jacket around his shoulders a bit tighter to him.

“Naoto's busy, and I don't want her coming here in the rain anyway. I think I may have some shorts that could fit him upstairs in my room. Could you go check?”

“Yeah, sure. Be back in a minute,” Yosuke said and ducked off out of Akechi's line of sight, the telltale creak of stairs telling him that he would be left alone with this stranger for a few seconds. He could bolt back to the trains and find a way back to Tokyo and forget all of this. A part of him still thought that maybe this was the best thing to do. But at the same time...maybe being away from his father would turn out to be a good thing.

“I'm Seta Souji.” Akechi watched him squat down a little bit to come eye-level with him and smile a little bit. “Do you want to tell me your name?” Akechi stared at him for a long, long while before finally making a proper decision about what he needed to do here.

“...Akechi,” he whispered quietly. “My name is Akechi.” Souji smiled a little bit more at that and nodded.

“Alright, Akechi. Do you want to tell me why you ran away?” he asked. This time Akechi fidgeted and turned his head off to the side. Instead of pressing the issue Souji seemed to understand and backed off this line of questioning. “That's fine. Are you hungry? When was the last time you ate?” Embarrassingly Akechi had to think to find an answer, and apparently that hesitation was enough for Souji to return to his full height and sigh. “I was already making dinner, so once we get you into dry clothes and you warm up you'll be able to eat. Do you have any allergies?”

“Not that I know of, no. But I don't like green onions,” he said. He immediately flinched back like he was expecting to be hit and before he can stop himself more words come tumbling out. “I'm sorry I don't mean to sound rude I'll eat whatever you give me.”

“...Right. No green onions. I'll keep that in mind,” Souji said as the stairs began creaking again to signify Yosuke coming back down the stairs.

“Found some shorts! Grabbed him a shirt too,” he yelled and jumped down the last few steps to land on the floor with a hard 'thump.' Souji shot him a look from where he was standing and crossed his arms.

“There's no need to be so loud,” he warned. Yosuke laughed nervously and held the clothes out for Souji to take from his hand and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Sorry, partner,” he said. Souji continued to glare at him for a brief second before he sighed and turned back to Akechi.

“Come on. Let's get you out of those wet clothes.”

 

Akechi sat at the table with his eyes fixed on the grain of the wood and still refusing to make eye contact with either Yosuke, who was sitting across from him and listening to music on his phone through his headphones, or Souji, who occasionally turned from his place in the kitchen to check on the two of them as they waited for dinner to be ready. This scenery reminded him of the fourth home, when his adoptive father and mother weren't fighting and his siblings were trying to get their school work done as soon as they could so they could retreat to the safety of their rooms and away from their parents before the inevitable detonation.

“Akechi, could you get Yosuke's attention for me?” Souji called, and Akechi jumped immediately out of shock. Souji...had asked him to do something instead of ordering him to do it. It seemed his reaction was enough to make Yosuke slide one headphone off of his ear and look at the younger boy in concern.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked with what Akechi could only assume was genuine concern. Those types of emotions had been lost on him since his mother's suicide all those years ago. “You jumped. Something happen?”

“I asked him to get your attention. I guess I sounded a little harsh to him,” Souji explained. “Can you come taste this for me?” Yosuke slid away from the table to stand before padding off into the small kitchen to taste test whatever Souji was cooking.

“Not sure why you think I need to try it. Everything you make tastes great,” Yosuke chuckled. Akechi blocked their conversation out in lieu of continuing to stare at the wood of the table.

How much longer until they got tired of him? Until they kicked him out and told him that he needed to get home to his parents? How much longer would he have a place like this to sleep before some of his father's goons busted in to take him away and make sure these two kind souls didn't breathe a word of what had happened? They hadn't even batted an eyelash at his hesitancy to explain why he wasn't at home tonight when it was storming like this. Were people...really actually this kind...?

He had only known the false kindness his father gave him from time to time when pretending he was proud of Akechi for the progress he was making in his studies for so long. Even someone as emotionally starved and stunted as Akechi could tell everything Shido said towards him was meant to keep him under his thumb and quiet. But these two seemed to be so genuine and comfortable and happy with each other, and the kindness they displayed towards each other and him seemed so real that Akechi wanted to believe it was real. That his mother hadn't been an exception but the rule for human kindness.

He watched Yosuke laugh at something Souji said and it made his heart squeeze a little bit. Being in this house felt so warm and safe and Akechi never wanted to leave. But he knew eventually he would need to return home so nothing worse would happen to him. So nothing would happen to Yosuke and Souji. Maybe he could slip away in the morning when they were asleep and go back to Tokyo.

His stomach twisted painfully to remind him he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast this morning when Shido had yelled at him again for touching something he shouldn't have. A small whine slipped out before he could stop it, his body curling in on itself a little bit to try and ease some of the pain. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as his body begged to finally be fed again.

Souji appeared in his field of vision to set a bowl down in front of him. Immediately he perked up and felt his mouth water; Souji had made vegetable stew and it smelled heavenly to Akechi. Without hesitating he grabbed the offered spoon and began to wolf it down. His stomach protested at the sudden intake of food but he ignored it in lieu of actually getting to eat finally; he would be in agony for a few minutes but afterwards he knew he would feel much better.

A phantom pain shot through the back of his head, real and not real at the same time, and his spoon clattered to the table as his hand shot up to touch the spot.

“I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude,” he said again and took a breath to keep from breaking down. “I should have waited until you told me it was okay to eat...”

“Dude it's fine. You mentioned not being able to eat all day. You need this,” Yosuke chuckled and reached over to ruffle his hair playfully. Akechi absently leaned into the touch and let out a soft sigh at the feeling. Physical contact with another person was rare for him unless it was to be painfully reminded of his place or to correct some behavior he didn't even know was wrong until he had been hit. Yosuke touching him like this reminded him of his second home, not family. The home he had with his mother who did everything she could to be a good parent to Akechi and tried so hard to make herself love him in spite of everything. The mother he lost years ago, on a day he couldn't even make himself remember, to a bullet between her lips and a hole in the back of her head.

He didn't even realize he had been crying until a hand wiped at his eyes. He realized someone had pulled them into his lap to hold while he continued to cry and he couldn't even bring himself to stop out of embarrassment. He had never been given proper time to grieve her before he had ended up with his first family that constantly reminded him crying was for weak people and not him. The tears refused to stop even after he made himself sick. He hated it.

When they finally died down he couldn't quite piece together how long he had been crying, only that Yosuke was gone and he was settled in Souji's lap now (still? Akechi wasn't sure who had hugged him first.) while Souji looked like he was fighting to stay awake.

“You sh-should ge-get some sl-sleep, Se-Seta-san,” Akechi stuttered, hiccuping and trying to pull away from him now. Souji held tight and if anything squeezed him tighter in response. Just that small act of reassurance made him finally begin to relax and let himself calm down. Breaking down after so long over his mother seemed like a stupid thing to do. She was dead, she wasn't coming back, he knew this, so there shouldn't have been any point in crying over it now.

But at the same time he understood that grieving was normal, that he should have been allowed to cry before but wasn't, and for some strange reason simple head pats from a complete stranger who pulled him in out of the rain and to who Akechi assumed was his best friend's house shattered the wall he had subconsciously built to keep those emotions at bay.

After Akechi felt certain he could speak and not stutter he pushed away more slowly from Souji and this time found himself able to move off of him. He wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat before looking the opposite direction from Souji.

“I'm sorry for...for crying,” he said slowly. “I didn't mean...mean to.”

“Don't apologize, Akechi. You obviously needed it,” Souji said and wiped at his eyes. A yawn crawled up from his throat but found itself shoved down forcefully. “You should eat something. Then you can head to bed.” Akechi shook his head, forcing himself up to his feet and staring down at the clothes he still wore. The shirt was much too long on him, the shorts a tad too big, and if Akechi were honest he looked stupid.

“I can't. I need to go home,” he whispered. “Father will be...be looking for me now and I...I...I...I don't want to get you in trouble.” He moved with purpose towards the front door but a hand on his wrist pulled him to a stop hard enough that he very nearly fell backwards.

“At least sleep here. I can't let you leave in good conscience without eating something and sleeping,” Souji said. Akechi looked back to him to argue but something in Souji's eyes made the reply die on his tongue. Instead he turned his eyes down to his feet to stare in thought. A war started within him in response to Souji's plea, whether he should humor this stranger or listen to that voice in his head telling him to leave.

He made his decision easily enough and turned to take his place back on the other side of the table. His bowl still felt a bit warm to the touch, and when he went to take a bite of the soup he found it had cooled down to a pleasant heat. This time he ate much more slowly in an attempt to enjoy the flavor of it on his tongue. It tasted wholly different from the upper class, expensive food that Shido forced him to choke down that he was regretfully beginning to acquire a taste for and it made his mouth water even as he continued to eat.

With food in his belly finally and the tension from the whole day gone, Akechi felt himself trying to stay awake as well and rubbed at his eyes absently. Souji quickly moved from where he had sat down and turned to walk off towards the other side of the house. Akechi blinked and found himself being settled onto the couch and a blanket coming to rest over him. The lights were off, but he could just make out Souji's shape in the darkness. His hand came up to rest on Akechi's head gently, and again Akechi leaned into the touch.

“Get some sleep. We'll talk in the moring,” Souji whispered before turning and heading towards the stairs. Akechi heard them creak as Souji climbed up them, and that was the last thing he remembered before he finally fell completely asleep.

 

When he awoke the next morning the first thing he noticed were the voices. He kept stock still so as not to get their attention and instead settled in to listen to their conversation.

“Souji, I don't care. We can't keep him here.”

“Dojima please. It isn't fair. He's obviously been abused, isn't there anything you can do for him?”

“Not without physical evidence, and you said so yourself that you didn't see any bruises.”

“Visible. They could be under his clothes. Please, you have to do something.”

“Dammit Souji I can't!” Something slammed down on the table near him and before Akechi could stop himself he had whimpered and curled into a ball, hand coming up to block whatever hit would be coming his way next. When he felt a hand brush against his arm he flinched back and fought a sob.

“I'm sorry! I'll leave, you don't have to do anything! Just please don't hurt me!” For a few moments the only sounds in the house were his labored breathing and the soft rainfall against the glass doors leading outside. Then he heard a sigh, this one from the person Akechi could only assume was Dojima, and the sound of feet shuffling.

“I'll look into it later. Get him some breakfast first,” Dojima grunted. The front door opened and shut, and Akechi finally dared to crack an eye open.

Souji sat in front of him, one hand tentatively raised up towards his head. There was a third person that Akechi didn't recognize now sitting in the spot he had occupied the night before. Someone with messy black hair and a bright red tie. They looked extremely concerned, and their eyes flicked between Akechi and Souji.

“Geeze...you weren't kidding when you said that he'd probably been abused,” they huffed. “Poor kid...did you get his name?”

“No. He hasn't really said anything to me,” Souji lied. Akechi's face showed his confusion, and Souji very discreetly brought a hand up to set a finger in front of his lips. Immediately Akechi understood Souji was giving him a chance to stay quiet for at least a little bit longer. This seemed to satisfy the other person, who calmly stood from their seat and waved absently at them.

“Well I guess I should head out with Dojima-san before he gets on my ass for wasting time. Hope you find something out about him so you can help him,” they said before disappearing out the front door as well. Once they were alone Akechi slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position and stared Souji in th eyes.

“Why did you lie to him?” he asked. Souji dropped back to the sit on the floor in front of him and let his arms rest on his knees. “You shouldn't have.”

“You're obviously scared. I don't know the whole situation, but I can understand that you don't want to go back with your father. I'm not sure how long I can keep Dojima from sending you on your way, but I'm going to do what I can to keep you comfortable while you're here,” he answered. He kept a serious look on his face that told Akechi these were his genuine intentions, and it made him feel a little safer and a little happy. “Now you're probably hungry. I don't have school today, so why don't I make you something to eat? Need to make something for Nanako anyway.”

“That...sounds nice, actually,” Akechi whispered. “But I don't want to be a bother...”

“Akechi I offered. That means it won't be a bother to me,” he pointed out. “Anything in particular you want?”

“...Omurice,” he said quietly. “I want...I want omurice.” Souji chuckled and stood up before heading off into the kitchen.

“Nanako might like that too. I hope you don't mind the company. She's my cousin, and I'm helping take care of her while I'm here,” he hummed. Akechi shook his head slowly from side to side before sliding off the couch slowly.

“I won't mind. I think it will be nice to have some more company.”

The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Akechi. He became more properly acquainted with Dojima and his partner Adachi, and even struck up a fast friendship with Nanako during his stay. Souji spent most of his time elsewhere, and it didn't take long for Akechi to figure out he was disappearing so much to see Yosuke. One day, when snow had begun to fall and the two of them were sitting together under a warm kotatsu with hot chocolate, Akechi couldn't keep quiet anymore.

“Why don't you bring your friend around anymore? Yosuke, wasn't it? I haven't seen him in a while,” he said. Souji shrugged calmly and took a sip of his drink.

“He's been pretty busy with his job at Junes lately,” he answered. “I haven't wanted to interrupt his days off.” Akechi frowned at that answer and shifted his legs around to a more comfortable position.

“You're lying to me. I don't like it. Are you two...?” He hesitated, not really sure how to phrase this question without coming off as rude. Souji seemed to contemplate his answer for a long while before nodding and taking another sip of his drink.

“I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. And Yosuke's still...nervous about our relationship,” Souji explained. “We still hang out, but I didn't think it would be right for me to bring him around and potentially make things awkward for you.”

“Why would it be awkward?” Akechi asked. Souji leaned back a little bit, one hand against the floor to brace himself, and looked up at the ceiling.

“We're very affectionate with each other. Cuddling, kissing, things like that. I didn't want to stick you with watching us together or leave you alone just so I could spend time with my boyfriend. I didn't think it would be fair.” Akechi fell quiet now and settled for holding his mug in silence for a while. He couldn't quite figure out what he should say in response to that.

“...Are you two...in love...?” he asked. This seemed to catch Souji off guard, as his head turned to stare at Akechi for a while before going back to the ceiling. He stayed quiet for a while longer before letting himself lay back completely on the floor and sighed.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” he answered. “When I moved here last year everything just felt so dull and painful. I'd lost my friends from where I lived before. None of them tried to keep in contact with me. I met Yosuke on my first day day when he ended up falling into a trash can.” He paused here to chuckle at that, a hand coming up over his mouth. “He did this twice, actually. The first time he ended up getting out on his own, but the second time he had gotten stuck and needed me to help him out. He had been so embarrassed and refused to make eye contact with me for about a week or so. I felt bad for him, so I made him lunch and brought it for him the next Monday.”

“I've noticed you seem to be a really good cook,” Akechi said.

“Yosuke said that too. He was so surprised that I knew how to make anything. We chatted for a little bit and ended up becoming fast friends. After that we were inseparable. Dojima joked a lot about Yosuke just moving in with us for the rest of the year, he was over here so much,” he laughed, and Akechi couldn't help but laugh with him.

“So when did you two get together?” Souji's eyes closed and he felt a wry smile on his face.

“We've been together for about...four months now,” he explained. “We took a trip before that and I...sort of realized how I felt about him. I didn't get the courage up to tell him until after I helped out at Junes with him for a week. Sounds stupid, I know, but it worked. He thanked me for helping him out and said I was a good friend and I blurted out that I wished I could have been a good boyfriend instead. The look on Yosuke's fae was...interesting.” He threw an arm over his eyes and grinned even wider. “He got so embarrassed. Said it was the worst time I could have confessed to him and he got mad at me for making it so unromantic and then he went bright, bright red. It was adorable.”

“He only got angry with you because it wasn't romantic? That's honestly hilarious,” Akechi laughed. Souji began laughing too from his place on the floor, eventually laughing so hard he rolled over to hold his side from the pain. Eventually the laughter died down, leaving a pleasant ache in Akechi's cheeks. He hadn't laughed like that in a long, long time.

Thinking of that reminded him of his father, and a scowl replaced the happy smile he had been wearing a few moments before.

“...I really need to head back soon,” he whispered quietly. Souji huffed and sat up so quickly it made Akechi startle and scoot back a bit.

“I don't want you going back though,” he said lowly. “You're being abused Akechi. You deserve to be in a better place than that. Why don't you stay here? I've been trying to convince Dojima to adopt you and-”

“Thank you for the sentiment, Seta-san, but I can't let him do that. My father wouldn't allow it,” he said. The hot chocolate had long since cooled, leaving him with what felt like ice against his skin. “These past few weeks have been...nice. To say the least. But I can't stay here any longer.” Souji sighed, eyes turning off to the side, and pulled his knees to his chest.

“...At least stay until tomorrow evening. It's Christmas, and we've gotten you presents. Nanako would be really upset if she didn't get to give you yours,” he said. Akechi stilled for a second before looking over at Souji with narrowed eyes.

“...Presents? But I'm not family. Why would you-”

“Nanako thinks of you as another big brother. Dojima's gotten used to having you around and...we didn't figure you'd be getting any presents if you went home anyway. They're not much, but we figured it would be nice for you,” Souji explained. “Look, I don't know the exact details of your family since you won't tell me but I want to say I'm sorry. Nobody should be scared of the possibility of being hit just because you ate after starving all day, or because you accidentally knocked over a bowl and spilled some rice. I wish I could do more than just sit here and be your friend.”

“...You're...my friend...?” The raw confusion and hurt in Akechi's voice made Souji's heart squeeze in his chest. This poor sweet boy had already been through so much in his short life span and he genuinely had to ask if someone he had been living with for almost two months was his friend. It was a sad reality and one Souji really did wish he could change.

He would probably be able to, if Akechi would just tell him who the fuck his father was.

“Of course I'm your friend, Akechi. It would be hard not to consider myself one after spending so much time with you,” Souji chuckled and picked his mug back up. “...Ah. It's gotten cold. Oh well.” He continued sipping at his drink, thumbing through his messages and sending a quick reply to Yosuke. When he finally looked over at Akechi he immediately began to worry. Akechi had begun crying again. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I just...haven't...had friends in...in years,” he laughed weakly. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes slowly before taking another sip from his cup. “It's nice. To be able to say you're my friend. You aren't lying to me right?”

“I don't lie about friends. Ever. I mean that.” He glanced back down at his phone for a moment before turning his attention to Akechi. “You have a phone, right?”

“Not on me, obviously, but I do,” he answered. “Were you planning on giving me your number so we could stay in contact?” Souji nodded at that and stood from his seat. “Thank you. Father doesn't check my phone so he wouldn't question who you were. The only thing he requires of me is to keep it on me at all times.” Souji snorted at that and shook his head.

“And yet you don't have it. I see. Well I'll make sure to give it to before I see you off tomorrow evening. I want to be able to make sure you're okay. Promise to keep in touch with me?” Akechi smiled, and nodded before finally finishing off his cup. “Good. If you don't I'll come find you and make you.” This time Akechi choked out a laugh and set his cup back down on the table a little harder than he meant to.

“I'll make sure to keep that in mind.”

The next morning passed by in a blur, between Akechi actually receiving gifts (only his third family had given him gifts) and Nanako insisting on playing with him all day. It didn't take long for him to figure out that Souji had probably told both her and Dojima that he would be leaving that evening. Being able to play out in the snow with everyone had him laughing so hard his stomach hurt and his cheeks so from smiling so much. He could easily say this was the happiest he had been in years. But as the sun went down Souji stuck him with a knowing look before ushering Dojima and Nanako back inside. He'd walk Akechi to the station, he promised he would be careful. Souij just wanted to have a private conversation with him before they parted.

The snow crunched under their boots as they walked through the quiet streets, a few stray snowflakes falling down and sticking to wherever they could find purchase. Akechi was back in the clothes Yosuke had found him in with the addition of a knit scarf Souji had given him and new snow boots that Dojima had given him for Christmas. The chocolate Nanako had gifted him for Christmas was tucked into the pocket of his jacket. A feeling of dread and misery had settled into his stomach; he didn't want to leave. He was happy here in Inaba with his new friends, and he didn't want to go back to his abusive father who only saw him as a means to further his political career.

“So you're really going back?” Souji asked him. Akechi hummed quietly to himself and gave a quick nod in answer. He couldn't trust himself enough to speak without breaking down and crying. When Souji's hand settled onto his shoulder to squeeze he had to bite his lip hard enough to risk drawing blood to keep himself composed. “Just know you'll always be welcome in Inaba. The couch is always available to you. I'm pretty sure Dojima wouldn't even care if you didn't give him a heads up.” 

Akechi nodded again and took a shaky breath to keep the tears back. He likely wouldn't see Souji again for a long while; he was going back to his home with his parents to finish out his last year of high school, and then he'd likely be off to college after that. But at least he would be able to keep in contact with Souji. The scrap of paper in his pocket with Souji's number on it felt like a slight beacon of light he could keep an eye on for the next few years of his life.

When they made it to the station Akechi's train home was just rolling in, and the dread in his stomach began to grow worse. It gnawed at his insides and made him feel sick to his stomach, but Souji's arms wrapping around him in a tight and affectionate hug helped ground him. When he slowly hugged Souji back the dam broke, tears rolling down his cheeks and ugly sobs wracking his body. Instead of trying to reassure him or convince him to stay Souji merely tightened his grip and let him continue to cry, and honestly that was exactly what Akechi needed right then. To just be reminded that it was okay to cry sometimes and that he had people who genuinely cared about him and wanted him safe and happy.

It reminded him of Ryuji, who he hadn't thought about in an embarrassingly long time, and made him realize they hadn't spoke since his mother's suicide and he had been taken away to foster care for the first time. A feeling of homesickness and loneliness settled into his stomach; he wanted to get back in touch with his best friend, but he wasn't sure how that would go. He had been silent for six years, after all. Maybe...maybe he could at least check in on Ryuji when he got home. See if he could find where his family was staying now.

When he took his seat at the window he looked out to see Souji standing there with a soft smile on his face waving to him, and he was reminded of the promise he had made earlier that day. Souji had demanded to hear from him at least before midnight so that he could sleep easy and know that Akechi was alright. His hand slipped into the pocket of his pants to rub against the paper there, and for some reason he felt that no matter what Shido did to him everything would be alright.

When he finally crawled back home he expected his father to be angry with him and beat him until he bled again, like he had when Akechi had accidentally broken an expensive decoration that the maid had left down where he could reach it. Instead his father greeted him with a blank expression and blank eyes.

“I honestly thought you had died or something,” he deadpanned. “I'd already given up on trying to find you. You being here is honestly a nuisance at this point. If you aren't going to behave and act like a decent kid, then I have no use for you.” Akechi's fists balled at his side at that; it took everythign within him not to snap at Shido.

“So what will you do with me, Father?” he asked. Pride welled in his chest at just how even and level his voice sounded right now. In answer Shido waved his hand at him and turned around in his seat.

“By the end of the year you'll have your own place. By the time you're sixteen I expect you to be self-sufficient enough that I can finally stop supporting you. If I need you at any time, though I doubt that will happen, I'll get back in touch with you. Until then I don't want to hear or see you at all, do I make myself clear, brat?” he snapped. Akechi made a face, a nasty face, and nodded solemnly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now get the hell out and start packing. And don't take anything of mine, you little runt. I'll know if you do.” Akechi nodded in understanding and calmly turned to return to his room. He pulled his phone up from the nightstand and pulled the scrap of paper out of his pocket.

_It's Akechi. I made it alright. Father is kicking me out by the end of the year._

He set the phone down before walking over to a small shelf of what Shido had called “pointless baubles” and let his fingers run across the small little figures with a dry smile on his face. A few Featherman figures that his mother had bought him before her suicide, a statue that his third family had bought him for Christmas three years before, a slightly chipped and colorful clay flower that Ryuji had made almost seven years ago now-

His heart squeezed in his chest as memories of Ryuji came flooding back to him. They were few and far between, most of his memories from his childhood having been blocked out long ago, but one hit him hard enough in the gut to make him lose his breath.

He remembered Ryuji coming into his home with his mother, his head tucked into his chest and tears rolling down his cheeks and into his shirt. Before Akechi could come over to comfort him his mother had moved across the living room to pull Ryuji off into their bathroom and shut the door behind them. Akechi had tried to push into the bathroom with them but his mother had locked the door and very firmly but softly told Akechi to go wait in the living room for them. He had begrudgingly listened, plopping down at their table and shoving his legs underneath it to stretch them out. When Ryuji had come out later he had a bandage stuck to his forehead just above his eyebrow and Akechi had to hold back tears.

Behind him his phone vibrated again, pulling him out of the memory, his feet guiding him back over to his nightstand without any real input from his brain. Like a broken toy that moved when you didn't tell it to. He glances down at the message and feels himself smile a little bit at the reply.

_I'm sorry. Do you need to return to Inaba with Dojima and Nanako?_

_No. He's getting me my own place. He expects me to be self sufficient by the time I'm sixteen. I don't know what I'll do._

_Why not become a detective like Naoto? You're smart enough for it, and you mentioned you were interested in criminal justice when you stayed with us._

Akechi stared at his screen for a long while, thumb hovering over it and a serious expression on his face that Souji would thump his forehead for and tell him to stop making. He had mentioned that when he had stayed there, hadn't he? Seeing all the horrible things his father had done already and hearing about the things his supporters had done made him want to put them all behind bars as soon as he could, even if the rational part of himself needed reminding that they had more than enough money to keep that from happening. But he could stop other people from turning into them, and maybe that would be enough for him in the long run.

_I think I could possibly manage that. But I feel I wouldn't be able to live up to Shirogane-san's fame. A part of me is afraid that I'll fall flat on my face and become a laughing stock._

__

__

_Don't compare yourself to her. That will only set you up for failure. If you decide this is what you want to do, then Naoto and I will do whatever we can to help you. ___

____

____

_Thank you, Seta-san._

_I've told you before. Call me Souji._

Akechi smiled at that and set his phone down before letting out a deep, slow breath and closing his eyes. Once he had been settled into his new place, and one everything had quieted down for him, he would get back in touch with Ryuji. He promised himself.

The next year of his life flew by him so fast his head spun a little bit, and when he found himself sitting in front of Souji in late August he realized that he couldn't even clearly remember much since last Christmas. He remembered being shoved into his surprisingly plush apartment by his uncaring father, remembered being given glowing recommendations on a case by Shirogane Naoto herself (it still amazed Akechi that Souji knew her, but he thanked that little connection) and suddenly he was being hailed as the New Detective Prince and finding it hard to find time for really anything. His birthday had passed with the only wish coming from Souji in the form of a text and a promise of a present the next time they saw each other.

Which, as it turned out, was a small notebook with an elastic snap to help keep it closed and three small pens to write in it with. Souji looked so damn pleased with himself, and honestly Akechi couldn't blame him. It was the perfect present for him after all, given his new line of work. They had decided to meet up again with Souji in the city now finishing up school and getting ready for college, most likely.

“It's still strange to think of myself as anything less than a burden,” he admitted as he tucked the notebook away into the pocket of his jacket. “I'm actually helping people now. I've had someone specifically request I work on their case. It's strange but a pleasant feeling. There's even talks of maybe letting me cut my teeth on the Perfectionist murders.” Akechi's senses weren't as sharp as they would be later in life, meaning he completely missed the way Souji went stock-still for the briefest of moments before continuing to take a sip of his coffee.

“What do you think of the Perfectionist, anyway?” he asked calmly, eyes watching Akechi's face for any sort of reaction to the line of questioning. His answer came in the form of an awkward hesitation, then a warm chuckle.

“Why would you need to ask such a question? They're a killer. And killers should be locked away so they can't hurt people anymore,” he answered. “It's my place to uphold the law now, even as young as I am. I can't simply let unjust people continue to destroy this world. They should be arrested and brought in for questioning like any normal criminal.” Souji nodded, seemingly in agreement with Akechi's statement, and set his cup down on the table in front of him. “Let's turn the questioning elsewhere, hmm? You mentioned returning to Inaba tomorrow?”

“Yes. I promised Yosuke during my last visit that when I came back again it would be permanent,” Souji said. His left hand moved over to his right to spin a ring that Akechi only just noticed he was wearing around his pointer finger absently. He could see a tiger's eye stone set in the center of the band. “I even got us promise rings. When we've decided that it's where we want to go in life, they'll be engagement rings. And then one day we'll be happily married in a nice little home somewhere we'll both be happy.”

“I can't wait,” Akechi said and smiled more. “You always send me pictures of you two together and you look so happy. Does that mean I'll be best man at the wedding then?” Souji choked out a laugh and shook his head slowly.

“Sorry, but that spot goes to my friend Chie. She'd kick my ass if I didn't let her,” he chuckled. “But maybe you could convince Yosuke to let you be his. Next time you get some time off let me know and I'll get the couch ready for you to stay on. I know Dojima won't mind. Yosuke and I actually talked about you and he said he's glad you're doing so well for yourself.” Akechi hummed absently to himself and turned his attention to stare out of the large glass window they sat beside.

“I think I'd like that honestly,” he said. “I've been wanting to thank him for bringing me to your home that night. If it weren't for him I feel I would be completely lost right now. Tell him I said hello when you see him again?”

“I'll make sure of it.” He glanced down at his phone for a second before tucking it back into his pocket and sliding out of his seat. “I hate to cut our lunch short, Akechi, but I need to take care of a few last minute errands here before tonight. I'm guessing you won't be seeing me off tomorrow...?”

“I'm afraid not, Seta-san. I'm getting sweet talked into coming in early to help with a theft case that has the police stumped,” he answered. He took a few bites of his lunch and absently waved to Souji as he walked off before turning his attention back to the window again.

He still couldn't believe where he was in life. Most people at this point would be struggling to make anything work or happen, panicking about not being able to support themselves or about getting dumped on their ass without much support. He had already started a little savings account for himself that had grown flush since he discovered the joys and ease of instant ramen and convenience store dinners that he could grab whenever he felt hungry. Already he felt at ease with the prospect of turning 16, even if he likely wouldn't get anything more than another birthday wish from Souji along with another well-thought out present.

His hand slipped into the pocket of his jacket to thumb at the embossed leather notebook before slipping over to snap the band in a slow and steady rhythm. Ryuji popped into the forefront of his mind again and made his chest ache with a very real pain. It had been six years since he last saw his friend and Akechi had made no effort to get back into contact.

When he was still stuck in foster care he excused himself by saying that he wouldn't stay with one family long anyway, so there was no reason to try and find him only to be forced to move in with a different family by the time he had. Once he had been adopted by his father he made the excuse that Shido wouldn't want him talking to anyone that didn't consider themselves upper class for fear of ruining his father's reputation. Now...his only excuse was fear of being yelled at and told never to contact Ryuji again, or finding out Ryuji's father had finally snapped in a drunken rage and killed both his wife and his son. Neither one seemed like a pleasant outcome.

Home called to him, his feet moving before he could really understand what they were doing, and soon enough he found himself sitting at his living room table digging through papers and trying to make sense of the steadily blurring letters printed on the page in neat strokes he had practiced for years. Eventually a headache began to settle in and he crawled into his bed with every intention of sleeping until noon and claiming that he had slept through his alarm and any phone calls his superiors might have made to wake him.

At roughly 9:53 at night, however, his plans hit a disastrous snag in the form of a frantic phone call from Souji. Akechi had almost decided to ignore his ringing phone before deciding on a whim to roll over, and seeing the name on his screen made him jump to grab it before it stopped ringing.

“Seta-san? Why are you-”

“Come to Inaba.” Souij's voice sounded shaky and strained, which caused Akechi to immediately shoot up out of bed and begin throwing proper clothes on. It was awkward and a little bit difficult to keep his phone pressed to his hear, but somehow he managed.

“Seta-san what's wrong? Are you hurt? Please tell me what's wrong.” A choked sob broke through from the other end and made Akechi's stomach fall out.

“Samegawa flood plain. Alone. Don't...don't tell anyone. Please just come Akechi.” Before he could get another word in edgewise the call ended and Akechi was met with silence. Worst case scenarios began flashing through his brain, the one that made him sick to his stomach being Souji planned on killing himself for whatever reason and wanted Akechi there to witness it. His mother had done the same thing to him, called him in front of her before ending her own life, and he realized he couldn't let something like that happen to him again. He would talk Souji out of it no matter what it took.

He couldn't trust the trains to get him there fast enough, so he fished out a good chunk of change and decided to get a cab to Inaba instead. It would be much more expensive, but right now the last thing on Akechi's mind was cost. The only thing he could think of was what had happened to drive Souji to this point so suddenly. Just this morning he had seemed chipper, excited, hopeful even as he headed off towards Inaba. Now this? Getting a straight answer out of Souji when he got there was going to be next to impossible, he felt, but maybe he could at least get a general idea of what had caused such a drastic change of heart.

A thick fog had settled over Inaba, only making Akechi's stomach twist tighter in fear and panic. Scrambling through the streets he hadn't walked in months in the dead of night with the fog surrounding him likely didn't make finding his way any easier, but soon enough he found himself stumbling down the stone steps leading to the river and calling out for Souji with very real fear in his voice.

“I'm here.” Akechi could hear him standing near the river bank, and he very nearly barreled into the water himself. A strong hand on his shoulder stopped him, and when he turned around his voice caught in his throat.

Souji stood in front of him with very thick still-wet blood spatters across the front of his clothes and across his face. A small switchblade hung loosely at his side, only clasped gently between two fingers, and his posture seemed like he didn't have a care in the world. The dead look in Souji's eyes sent shivers down Akechi's spine, even if they were tinged red from tears.

“Seta-san, what...what did you do?” he asked after finally finding his voice.

“You tell me, Akechi. You're the detective.” His voice sounded scratchy and pathetic, and Akechi wasn't sure he liked the way this looked for either of them. “But...I'll make it easy for you, and congratulate you for catching the Perfectionist red-handed.” Dark red eyes narrowed in confusion before widening in both fear and understanding. Akechi's hands began shaking steadily at his sides, and before he could think he took a step backwards onto air.

He fully expected to fall backwards into the river and end up soaking wet, but the strong hand that had grabbed his shoulder before now reached out for his arm instead and helped pull him back away from the riverbank. Once he had regained his balance he locked eyes with Souji and swallowed thickly.

“...You're...really the Perfectionist?” he asked quietly. Souji nodded in answer, holding the blade up and in front of Akechi's face so he could see the blood coating the edge. “Where did you dump the body then?”

“Behind the Marukyu tofu shop. By the time I finished cleaning him up the fog had set in, so I dragged him there, then came here,” he answered calmly. “I figured you wouldn't want to see the body. The first one is always the hardest one.”

“Seta-san, I...why did you call me here? Nobody would have any clue it was you. Why give yourself up so willingly?” Souji's hand moved up to something bright and orange looped around his neck, the fog making it impossible to discern what exactly it was, and settled there for a moment in thought.

“...I can't do this anymore,” he whispered. “Take me to jail. Please. I'll confess everything.” Akechi stared at him for a long, long while before finally speaking up again.

“When you asked me about the Perfectionist earlier, I told you that I believed them to be criminals. That they should answer for their crimes and that they should be brought in before they harmed another person.” Souji's face scrunched in confusion, not entirely sure where this conversation was going now. “But that was my professional opinion, on the off-chance someone happened to be listening to our conversation. Here, I can be honest. I looked up to you for the work you were doing. Both you and Reaper. Justice killers, doing what you could to make Japan better. Safer.”

“Akechi I-” The brunette held a hand up to silence Souji before he continued.

“I admired the way you took things into your own hands, the drive you had to make sure people suffered and paid for what they had done to others. You didn't wait for so-called 'justice' to run its course, you dished it out yourself. And I only dreamed of being able to do those things myself, because I understand just how corrupt the law really is. But I wasn't sure if I could really do something like that. Not on my own. I don't want to lose the only friend I have, Seta-san. I can't take you to jail. So I want to make a deal with you,” he said calmly.

“I can't.”

“You will. I won't turn you in, and if you try to do it yourself I will do whatever it takes to prove your innocence. You'll never have to kill another person again, I swear to you, but I want you to teach me how to do it myself. How to keep blood off of me, how to get the information I need to ensure I never harm an innocent person, everything. I want you to be my teacher.”

For a long while the only sounds around them came from crickets sounding off and the gentle rush of the water behind Akechi. Neither one seemed like they were willing to back down for a long while before finally Souij's shoulders dropped the smallest bit.

“This is a dark and dangerous path, Akechi. I hope you understand that,” Souji said quietly. The only answer he received from Akechi was a soft hum and a gentle smile.

“I understand completely, Senpai.”

Off in the distance, in the thick of the fog and under a lone street light, a single crow fluttered down after being disturbed from its rest by seemingly nothing and cawed into the darkness before taking off with a few frenzied flaps of its wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serial Killer Profile: The Inaba Ripper  
> Real Name: Adachi Tohru  
> Occupation: Cop in Inaba  
> Status: Deceased  
> Official Kills: 5  
> Signatures: Horribly violent deaths of mainly female victims  
> Danger to Public: unknown, pattern not established  
> Targets: Four women who struck his fancy, and one male target taken out of jealousy  
> Method: Using his civilian job made it easy for him to gain his victims trust and get them alone. He then usually stabbed them to death, though two victims showed signs of torture  
> Final Kill:: His final victim, Hanamura Yosuke, was taken out of jealousy. In truth Adachi had the chance to become a justice killer, but instead drowned in the joy of violence. He had an obsession with his partner's nephew that only grew when he discovered his real identity. so of course finding out he was dating that annoying Junes brat that had no idea who Souji really was didn't sit right with the Ripper. His fatal mistake was to try and convince Souji they were meant to be together; he was claimed as The Perfectionist's final victim.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so uhhhhhhh...this chapter definitely didn't go as planned. Crow was supposed to move fast and do things but this turned into a reflection chapter, IDK how. Next chapter's not gonna be much different, just gonna warn ya LOL. Slight warning for more gore.  
> Also uhhhh...good chance I may end up homeless. Not saying this for sympathy or anything, just letting you guys know way ahead of time to get ready. I'll have a touch more concrete answer next Sunday possibly, but won't have a real, honest-to-god answer until the 15th. So uhhhh...either I'll be posting the update on the 17th, or my co-author will be doing it for me LOL. If I do end up homeless then obviously this will probably go on hiatus, IDK for how long tho. Just a bit of a heads up. Sorry to kill the mood, but the chapter ain't much better.

The heat from the studio lights turned Akechi's skin a pretty shade of red underneath the thick layer of concealer he wore for his appearance on T.V,. His signature coat felt far too hot against his skin; he was almost positive he had sweat through his shirt almost half an hour ago. His makeup hadn't taken quite as long as they had anticipated which left him with a bit of free time before his interview, which he decided to use to study the host and gauge the way things would go for him. He could already tell this was going to be hell for him just from watching the way the host interacted with her guest. Jerky, quickly changed from subject to subject, and much too far into her guest's personal space.

In other words, she embodied everything Akechi absolutely despised about T.V personalities.

Maybe that was why he always got saddled with interviews and press conferences by just about ever senior on the force. A part of him felt they were likely trying to scare him off and make him leave of his own accord since the embarrassment of being outsmarted and outclassed by a child was always a sore spot for anyone working in any profession. But Akechi wouldn't let himself back down after coming so far. He had promised himself long ago that he would deliver justice by any means necessary, and there were people that even Crow just couldn't touch.

“And joining us today as our special guest is the great Detective Prince, Akechi Goro!” The pleasant smile he reserved specifically for public appearances slipped into place with practiced ease as he stepped out onto the stage and waved, easily replacing the deep scowl that had darkened his face just a few moments before. When he settled onto the sofa where he knew he would be sitting the smile grew wider, and the crowd grew even louder. His hands settled down neatly into his lap and his attention turned to his host who seemed to be waiting for the ruckus to die down before she could speak again.

“It's a pleasure to be here today,” Akechi lied and repositioned himself so he was a touch more comfortable. It never failed that the sofas and seats they kept on these kinds of talk shows were painfully uncomfortable and seemed to dig into every space of Akechi's body that they could to make sure he felt the tension well into the next day. Eventually he seemed to find a dip in the cushion and settled into it easily with one leg coming up to fall over the other one. “I just feel bad that you couldn't get someone more famous for your time slot.”

“Oh please! With the recent Joker murder I'm surprised your schedule hasn't been jam packed with appearances and interviews like this one!” the host teased, leaning in and setting a hand just a few inches to Akechi's left. His first instinct was to reach down and snatch her wrist to squeeze it painfully tight and warn her against getting so close to him, but he tamped that down in favor of laughing and ever so slightly scooting away from her.

“I must admit, the police force has been in a bit of a spin since Kamoshida's body was found earlier this week. There hasn't been much to go on for evidence, so we're doing everything we can to hopefully find anything we can to identify just who Joker is,” he explained. “Are you sure you wouldn't like to discuss something a little more lighthearted with me today?”

“Oh of course not! Everyone knows you're the unofficial official head of the case. You have the most information out of everyone, and the public is just dying for you to share some of that knowledge with us!” Akechi's smile finally dropped as he let his head tilt ever so slightly to the right. His neck popped at the slow movement and it took everything in him not to sigh in appreciation at the sudden lax in tension.

“I hope you understand there are things that I can't discuss regarding the case,” he said. “But I will try to answer the questions as best as I can.”

“Understandable, of course! Every talk show host knows the steps to this dance with you,” she said. This time she playfully shrugged her shoulder at him and batted her eyelashes. Akechi wanted to vomit at the poorly concealed attempt at flirting. For the hundredth time in his career he struggled a bit to bring the smile back to his lips. “So! What can you tell us about your leads on Joker so far?”

“Well I hardly feel the need to rehash old information, but if you insist...we believe that more than likely Joker is an unemployed adult. He's able to get into places that most people aren't able to without raising any kind of suspicion, meaning he's quiet and unassuming. He almost assuredly keeps to himself, meaning he likely doesn't have any friends or people he could reliably form a connection with. His erratic killing schedule and seemingly infinite knowledge of his targets leads us to believe he most likely has some sort of proficiency with computers and is able to collect their information and track their crimes through their own hard drives, and perhaps even somehow manage to gather everything he needs for the murders himself first-hand.,” he explained. A mental image of Akira four inches taller and swollen with more muscle popped into his head, and it took far more control than he would have liked to admit to avoid falling into a laughing fit.

“Wow, you guys really don't have much on him, do you? Such a shame. You haven't been able to track where the videos are uploaded from?” Akechi's head shook in answer as his legs traded positions.

“Unfortunately, no. He seems to have countless proxy servers and dummy sites set up when he uploads them, and the actual site can't seem to be traced back to any IP address no matter how hard we try. It also doesn't help that everything seems to be wiped clean after a week and the site sits dead until Joker's next victim confesses,” he said. “We've been trying for years and haven't been able to find anything on him.”

“Such a shame. Now onto a bit of gossip. There are rumors that you were seen on what could only be a date with the named victim of Kamoshida. Sakamoto Ryuji, right~?” she asked. Akechi's face dropped just long enough for her eyes to light up and for her to be able to pounce on the brief moment of weakness. “Oh, so you were on a date with him!”

“It wasn't a date. It was a celebration for a very private and very meaningful day. I ask that we drop this line of questioning where it stands, and I ask that you leave him out of this mess,” he said. The harshness in his voice was unintentional but seemed to get the message across clear enough, if her sudden withdrawal into herself gave any indication. “My apologies, but Ryuji and I are very close friends and seeing him unable to even go to school without being followed upsets me greatly.”

“Well how can the reporters resist? It's not every day a victim is actually named in one of Joker's confessions so explicitly,” the host hummed and leaned back in her seat. “He'll just have to learn to deal with it I suppose.” The sudden urge to lurch over and wrap his hands around her throat gave Akechi pause, his composure very nearly breaking before settling back into place yet again.

“Or perhaps people could have some decency towards a victim of sexual assault and leave him in peace as he comes to terms with the fact that everyone knows what his abuser did to him now,” Akechi pointed out calmly. “I understand reporters need news to keep their careers going, but I do wish some of them would show some sort of tact.” Obviously this line of conversation was beginning to kill the atmosphere, which left the host scrambling to salvage the situation any way she could.

“Wh-why don't we turn to the audience for some questions?” she stuttered and laughed awkwardly. “I'm sure some of them have questions they're dying to ask you.” A ripple passed through the audience and set up quiet conversations throughout. For a moment Akechi thought he may actually end up being able to get out of this interview without too much of a headache until a tall woman with dirty blond hair stood from her seat and stepped closer to the stage.

“Konishi Saki. I run an independent news blog, Perhaps you've heard of it?” she asked, and Akechi immediately began to sift through his brain until he stumbled across the information he was looking for.

“Ah...I believe I have, actually. You've been particularly invested in Joker's and Crow's cases both since they started up. I'm surprised. You don't seem to be the type to be interested in things like so-called 'justice killers.' May I ask why you picked this hobby...?” She scoffed at him and pulled her phone out to begin typing notes in it.

“I believe you're the one that's supposed to be answering questions here, Akechi, so let's stick to that shall we?” Akechi opened his mouth to protest and ask if she could be a little more respectful towards him but found himself cut off before he could get a word in. “Was there anything strange about the calling card this time?”

“...Huh? Why would anyone think that?” he asked, suddenly caught off-guard by such a loaded question. On one hand he had just all but confirmed that this calling card had indeed been different than the others discovered beforehand, but on the other he could very easily brush his reaction off as confusion and surprise at being asked this.

“The wording on this calling card seemed a little different than the other calling cards that Joker has left for his victims to find. Doesn't it seem a bit strange for his tone to suddenly change like this?” Konishi pressed.

“W-well we had noticed that this one did seem to be written with a different tone and voice in mind, but with nothing to indicate any relevance we dropped the inspection of the card and began to focus more on confirming the crimes Joker put against Kamoshida,” he said. The stutter in his voice at the beginning irked him and he wished he could go back to fix it and level his voice. The damage had been done, however, and Konishi seemed to have found the perfect place to pounce on Akechi.

“Well something like that should definitely be scrutinized, don't you think? A sudden change in MO like that, there has to be a reason. In fact, I've personally taken it upon myself to compare the calling cards to each other, and then this one to other known famous writings, and you know what I've discovered?” she asked, a hand settling on her hip as though to challenge Akechi into asking her.

“And what have you discovered that the police force hasn't?” he asked. He felt certain he knew the direction this conversation was flowing and he felt extremely confident that he could easily deflect the observation in his favor.

“The calling card seems to be written more in Crow's style this time, rather than Joker's usual tone,” Konishi said. “Surely the police have noticed this. It's plain as day. Now if I didn't know any better, I'd think that maybe Joker was trying to emulate Crow's style here for a reason. Who knows? Maybe he's trying to flirt.” She giggled at this, obviously not taking herself serious with this observation, and crossed her arms across her chest. “What do you think, Akechi?”

“I think you may be reaching a bit with the flirting part of course,” he chuckled, relaxing a bit when the audience laughed with him. “But I did notice that this calling card seemed to match Crow's writing more than his own. I just wasn't sure if perhaps I was reading too far into things. Hearing someone else has made the same observations gives me a touch more confidence. Perhaps I'll bring it up the next time I'm at work.”

“Wow. I'm doing a detective's job better than him. That's a real shocker,” Konishi huffed. “Maybe you aren't as good as people say you are.” Akechi came within inches of firing back a retort, but something Sae had told him earlier that morning came back to him, and instead a very, very gentle smile settled onto his lips.

“That may be true, Konishi...but I'm not the one who tried to push her way back into the evidence room of the police station in an attempt to 'borrow' the DVD's from the Kamoshida case, refused to take no for an answer, and caused quite the scene for the other officers there,” he pointed out. A sick enjoyment settled into his gut as Konishi's confident smirk twisted into an ugly scowl at the accusation.

“I...I did no such thing,” she argued. Akechi leaned forward a bit in his seat and let his legs uncross so his elbows could rest on his legs.

“Oh but that isn't what my superiors told me. In fact they say they still have your bag there that you left. The flower print one with the bright colors? They said you dropped it when you started yelling about just trying to do your duty as a journalist.” He leaned back in his seat again, hands coming to rest together in his lap and legs crossing over one another again with a serene smile on his face. “Tell me something, Konishi...have you always been this distasteful towards victims? Or is this only starting up now because fewer and fewer people are paying attention to the dribble you post on your shameful excuse of a blog?” A few of the audience members gasped in surprise as Konishi sputtered to try and recover her standing as well as salvage the conversation for herself.

“...My blog is doing just fine. In fact after finding the Ripper's last victim almost four years ago my blog has been doing wonderfully. That find boosted my career and got me to where I am today. Why don't you take your slander elsewhere, hmm?” she hissed before she retreated to her seat, but something in Akechi had already changed. In the back of his mind something screamed at him to check a few specific case files and prove his hunch correct. No matter how painful it would be.

The rest of the interview passed without incident and Akechi was left free for the rest of the day because of it. As he left the station he began mentally running through every viable source he could get to that would give him the information he needed for his current fixation. Out of respect for his senpai he had promised himself he would stay out of the Perfectionist case files and avoid reaching too much into what he had done.

The files on the Inaba Ripper, however, were free game, and that was where Akechi would be starting his search. For the first time in nearly three years he made plans to visit Inaba for the files the police kept on the Ripper before he went dark. A few of his classes had touched on the Ripper as a testament to what humans were capable of, and almost every time Reaper and the Perfectionist had been brought up as well. Hearing Souji talked about so casually always seemed to leave a bitter taste in Akechi's mouth during those classes.

The next day he found himself stepping off the train and taking a look around at the scenery surrounding him, taking everything in and trying to remember everything as it had been the years before when he last came here. A few crows pecked around at crumbs left on the floor of the station, and Akechi found it darkly ironic that they would be the first living creatures to greet him here. As he stepped down off the platform he felt a warm, appreciative smile crawl up onto his lips.

“Ah. Hello, Dojima-san. It's been a while, hasn't it?” he said as he came to a stop in front of a rather old car. “How have you been?”

“Good. Nanako perked right up when I told her you were coming to visit. She's gotten a lot bigger since the last time you saw her,” he huffed and jerked his head to the other side of his car. “C'mon. It's late, so you won't have time to look over the files today, but I'll take you with me first thing in the morning.” As Akechi slid into the passenger's seat he let out a very slow breath and forced himself to relax.

“Thank you, Dojima-san. I'm sorry to put myself onto you so last minute like this, but...” In answer Dojima waved his hand at Akechi and started the car (after a few unsuccessful attempts that had both Dojima and Akechi worried that they would be walking home that night) before pulling off.

“Don't apologize. Kept telling Souji that he needed to invite you back here, but then you really blew up and I figured you wouldn't have time. Kind of weird you're suddenly coming here to read about the Ripper though,” he pointed out. Akechi shrugged, fiddling with a loose button at the bottom of his coat he would have to take time to repair soon, and let his eyes slide over to stare out the window and watch the scenery roll by.

“Just curious about it, is all. Hoping maybe reading about him will help me understand things about Joker and Crow a little more. A long shot, I know, but it's a possibility,” he hummed, and the conversation dropped after that. The gentle hum of the car combined with the warmth of the setting sun eventually lulled Akechi into a quick nap, and it wasn't until Dojima tapped his side that he realized he had fallen asleep.

“We're home. Nanako's probably gonna charge you for a hug, so be prepared,” he warned with a chuckle and stepped out. After stretching and popping a joint in his back Akechi did the same. The front door slid open, and he barely had time to turn before a heavy weight slammed into his stomach and knocked the wind out of him a little bit.

“Akechi! It's been so long!” He laughed and leaned down to hug her, realizing that the top of her head still reached the bottom of his ribs despite both of their growth spurts in the last four years. After she had squeezed him half to death he felt she pulled away and grinned up at him. “When Dad said you were coming to visit I got so excited! I see you on TV a lot and wanted you to visit but he always said you were too busy!”

“Well here I am, Nanako-chan. I'll only be here a couple of days though, and I'll be busy almost all of tomorrow most likely, but I promise we'll spend time together the next day before I return home,” he said and ruffled her hair gently. “Right now, however, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?”

“Nanako insisted we get something good for dinner, so we got sushi. It's a bummer not having Souji making dinner for once,” Dojima sighed as they stepped inside together. Nanako laughed and hurried over to plop down at the table in the living room. Akechi let himself wander over before settling down across from her.

“He's trying to teach me how to cook more stuff! I just can't do much on my own yet,” Nanako argued with a pout that very nearly made Akechi forget she was almost eleven years old now. “Pretty soon he'll start letting me make more difficult stuff myself!”

“I'm sure with a teacher like Souji you'll be a master chef by the time you're fifteen,” Akechi chuckled as he began to pick pieces of sushi for himself. “It is nice to be able to see him more often though, now that he's being loaned out to Tokyo. I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to come to Inaba and visit him, or either of you.”

“I know. You're always on TV and they're always talking about how great you are and how smart you are. Do you even get enough sleep?” Nanako asked, and Akechi couldn't help but wonder if maybe Souji had been teaching her more than just how to cook. The gaze she had fixed on him was sharp, scrutinizing him and gauging every action he made. Without thinking he let his porcelain smile slip into place and let his head turn ever so slightly. It was his go-to expression when he needed to convince someone he was alright and that they didn't need to worry about him.

“I'm perfectly fine, Nanako-chan,” he said, conveniently dodging the question and still indirectly answering it in the hopes of appeasing her. She stared at him for an almost uncomfortably long time before Dojima cleared his throat and tapped the table gently.

“Don't pester him like this, Nanako. Being a detective is hard work. Dangerous, too,” he sighed as he began to eat. “Adachi found that out the hard way.” Immediately Nanko's expression dropped, her eyes following it down to the table, and awkward silence settled into the room between the three of them. Akechi knew that Adachi had been Souji's last kill, but he had never quite figured out why Souji had killed him. He knew it was something personal, but he had promised to stay out of Souji's personal life as a sign of respect. A part of him wondered if maybe he would find the answer to that question while he was in Inaba.

That night on the couch he thought back to the last time he had slept there, and felt his heart warm a little bit. Souji had been so kind of him that night, bringing him in and feeding him and even comforting him without hesitation when almost every person in his life at that time would have yelled at him to shut up and threatened him with violence if he refused. The weeks he had spent in Inaba were such a turning point in Akechi's life and affected him so strongly that now, almost four years later, he could look back and understand just how pivotal his meeting with Souji had been completely.

Had he not met Souji, had any other person likely found him, they could have warped him in painful ways that Akechi could only vaguely begin to imagine. But instead someone as kind and caring as Souji had found him-

No, that wasn't right. Souji wasn't the one to find him...Akechi couldn't quite remember who had been the one to find him, as nearly four years had passed since then, but he remembered that Souji hadn't been the one to pull him out of the rain and take him to Dojima's. After digging through the broken memories of his life for a long while he decided he would focus on figuring out who brought home home at another time. He needed sleep if he wanted to be able to concentrate on his task in the morning.

The smell of coffee, gratefully, pulled Akechi out of the beginning of a nasty nightmare involving his mother and Shido eight hours later. He stretched out on the couch like a cat, groaning softly as one of the joints in his lower back popped loudly, before flopping back out and taking a few moments to simply wake up.

“Sorry. I know the couch isn't the best place to sleep, but...” Dojima offered, and Akechi half-heartedly waved him off.

“Don't apologize. I'm fine. I'm used to sleeping at my desk at the police station from time to time. Sae-san likes to chide me for it and say I'll ruin my back that way,” he mumbled as he slowly sat up. His eyes finally opened, and the soft morning light cast the living room in a warm glow that thankfully didn't hurt his eyes too much. As he stepped off the couch he heard pounding footsteps coming from the other side of the house, and Nanako bolted out into the kitchen with a panicked look on her face.

“Oh no, I overslept! I didn't mean to!” Without missing a beat or breaking his rhythm Dojima handed over a small box to Nanako, who let out a grateful sigh and took it gingerly. She pulled him into a tight bear hug and muttered, “Thanks Dad,” into his chest before turning and running outside towards school. Akechi chuckled and ducked off into the bathroom to take care of morning business and brush his teeth before moving over and plopping down at the table in the kitchen.

“It's so nice seeing Nanako-chan again,” he hummed, a bit of his normal energy returning to his voice as he continued to wake up. “I remember playing with her all the time when I stayed here before. It's hard to believe it's been three years...”

“Yeah. Time flies when you get busy, and you've been busy as hell since you made your breakthrough. How do you take your coffee?”

“Cream and five spoonfuls of sugar,” he answered, smiling warmly at the look Dojima shot him in answer. “I have a horrible sweet tooth, and the sugar helps just as much as the caffeine to wake me up.”

“You'll rot your teeth out that way,” Dojima teased before setting his cup down in front of him and sitting across from him. “I would have thought your tastes would change from when you were a kid.” Akechi snorted and took a tentative sip of his coffee, visibly relaxing as the bitter-sweetness hit his tongue.

“I wasn't a 'kid,' Dojima-san. I was a teenager,” he pointed out. Dojima laughed and pulled his phone out to scroll through some site that Akechi couldn't see from where he sat.

“You were a kid to me. And you still are, you know. Geeze...not even eighteen yet and you've already made a name for yourself. When Souji told me about you I...admittedly thought you would slip through the cracks. End up some delinquent who made stupid decisions in life.” Akechi barely held back a chuckle at that; Dojima had hit the nail on the head, even if he didn't personally believe his duty as Crow was a bad decision. Most of society saw it that way, though, and that made Dojima's observation all the more humorous. “I'm glad to see you're doing so well for yourself. Honestly even a little bit proud of you.”

“...Thank you, Dojima-san. It's nice to hear from someone that they're proud of me,” he said and smiled a plastic smile meant to avoid any awkward conversations regarding what he had just said. Thankfully this worked, as Dojima took one look at him and cleared his throat.

“You should go ahead and get ready. We'll be leaving in fifteen,” he huffed as he turned his attention completely to his phone and coffee. Akechi did the same, smiling a little bit at the first text he had received.

_Senpai  
I heard you went to Inaba for a few days. Not sure why, but I expect you'll be staying with Nanako and Dojima. Tell them I said hello for me please._

_I will, don't worry._

He chuckled softly to himself before opening the second message, the context confusing him until he had glanced up at the name of the chat.

_Aki-chan  
I know how we can do it._

Akechi had to think for an embarrassingly long time before he understood what Akira had been talking about. He seemed to have come up with some grand scheme to help pull the press' attention off of Ryuji, and at this point Akechi was willing to go along with any half-baked plan so long as it resulted in neither of them being found.

_What is your plan, oh great leader?_

_Don't get smart with me, Akechi. And my plan is flirting._

Akechi stared at his phone dumbly, rereading the message a grand total of five times before finally finding the ability to send a reply.

_...Flirting? That's your grand idea?_

_Watching your interview with that Konishi chick gave me the idea. Her half-assed joke made me realize that would be the perfect thing to keep Ryuji out of the spotlight._

_And how do you suppose that would work, hmm?_

_Easy. News stations will be too busy trying to figure out if we really are flirting, and they'll be too busy blowing up once we make it obvious we are, that they'll completely forget about it._

_Your 'grand idea'...is flirting._

_Yeah? You asked that already, you know, and it's better than my other idea. This way there won't be a sudden jump in body counts._

_Do I want to know what your previous plan was?_

_Make people think Reaper and the Perfectionist were back._

Without thinking he let out a low growl and slammed his fist on the table hard enough to rattle the porcelain mugs and catch Dojima's concerned attention.

“You alright Akechi?” he asked, and immediately the act was back on; Akechi smiled and nodded, chuckling a little bit and setting a hand on his mouth.

“Yes, everything is fine. I'm sorry. One of my friends and I have an inside joke and it's...frustrating how easily he gets me with it,” he explained, and Dojima shook his head before going back to his phone and muttering something along the lines of “Damn kids.” Akechi began to scowl again and turned his attention back to his phone.

_There is no way in hell I would have agreed to that plan. So fine. We'll flirt. I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. It's so asinine._

_Asinine it may be, it is admittedly our best bet, albeit a shot in the dark, so it's the one we're doing. We'll hammer out details on how we'll make this work later._

Akechi deleted the messages in question, once again amazed at just how quickly Akira could change tones even in messages, and slid his phone back into his pocket. He finished his coffee just as Dojima did, and the pair of them filed out of the house and into the car for the day ahead of them.

He still bristled at the implications from Akira, even if Akira didn't completely understand why he wouldn't be okay with that idea, and it took everything in him not to send a long message to Akira so he could get his point across. It was a moot point and Akira likely wouldn't even be remorseful over upsetting Akechi this way. The better option here, he realized, was to simply go with the flow and let Akira take care of things.

The station was dead quiet, completely different from the almost constant hustle and bustle of the Tokyo department where he practically lived at this point; the silence felt uncomfortable and awkward and Akechi couldn't help but wonder how Dojima did it. A brunette that Akechi felt certain was one of Souji's friends sat at the front desk with a book in her hands that seemed to be some guide on how to fight without fists.

“Dammit Chie, didn't I tell you not to read on the clock?” Dojima huffed. The playful tone in his voice made Akechi chuckle, and a sizable grin split his face when Chie jumped in surprise and flung the book behind her blindly.

“I wasn't reading, sir! I was-” Her eyes slid over to Akechi before blowing wide. She gasped and stood up from her seat to loudly slam her hands down on the desk, which was the wrong thing to do as Akechi immediately flinched back. Oblivious seemed to be Chie's middle name, however, as she ignored his reaction and continued speaking. “Oh my god you're Akechi! You're that friend of Souji's that he and Naoto helped out! You're like, super famous! What are you doing in a place like Inaba?” After collecting himself he smiled at her, a little shaky and perhaps a touch crooked, before answering.

“I came here to read through the files you have on the Ripper,” he explained. He couldn't help the pride he felt in himself at being able to keep his voice level enough to avoid raising suspicions. “I'm hoping maybe they'll give me something to work with for Crow and Joker.” Chie dropped back down into her seat and grinned at him.

“Hopefully you find something that'll help you out here. Dojima can show you were we keep everything here,” she said. Dojima rolled his eyes at her and jerked his head at Akechi to follow him. Stealing a glance back at Chie, Akechi saw her scrambling back behind her seat to find her book and making a distressed face when she found the cover had been bent at an awkward angle by its landing. The soft chuckle it earned made Dojima shoot him a look, then glance back to Chie and sigh.

“Don't mind her. She's another one of Souji's friends,” he explained.

“No need to apologize, Dojima-san. I'm used to that by now, honestly.” Dojima grunted in answer and led Akechi through an empty hallway with locked doors and black offices to a small room in the back. A single pull cord light cast a dim light around the room, making it difficult to read any of the labels on the boxes. Dojima seemed to know right where he was going, however, and immediately pulled up a busted box with two corners dented in and a lid that looked like someone had sat on it forcefully.

“Sorry it looks like crap, and sorry we don't have anything set up in some sort of database, but it's hard to get the funding for that kinda stuff out here,” he explained and shuffled off into one of the side offices. He set the box down onto the desk and straightened out, a hand settling on the small of his back, and groaned. “Getting too old for this shit, I swear...”

“You have could easily asked me to get it you know,” Akechi said as he took a seat at the desk. He almost asked who would normally be sitting here before noticing a picture on the corner of it; Souji, Nanako, and Dojima were all huddled together in the frame, bright smiles and equally bright sunshine hitting the camera, and the answer helped him relax back into the chair. “Even if it would have been difficult for me to make out much writing. You should replace that bulb, you know.”

“I keep telling Chie to do it but she never gets around to it. Since I'm here early I guess I'll do it myself,” he grumbled to himself before turning and heading off out the office. Akechi popped the cardboard top off of the box and pulled the papers out, noticing a few of them had neat, crisp writing in the margins. He couldn't help but feel a little bit surprised that Souji had decided to look through the Ripper files, but when he saw why the writing was there he felt his mouth go dry and his stomach curl up.

The Inaba Ripper's last victim had been one Hanamura Yosuke. Souji's lover, now that Akechi was completely awake, and the boy who had brought him to Souji's that night in the storm. Hate directed at himself for forgetting Yosuke surged through him, and it took everything he had not to start berating himself and swearing loudly. Now he remembered where those orange headphones had come from, and now he understood that red smear of what Akechi had always assumed been paint.

Now he understood why Souji had murdered Adachi with absolute prejudice.

After taking a few moments to collect himself he began to read through the neatly typed report more carefully.

 **Victim: Hanamura Yosuke  
** Age: 18  
Time of death: 9:42 PM, 10/12/2013  
Cause of death: Multiple stab wounds  
Yosuke **~~Victim~~ was found hanging from a TV antenna across from Junes by Konishi Saki on the morning of 10/13. Preliminary examination showed multiple stab wounds and lacerations across back and front. Official examination counted 15 stab wounds and 20 lacerations; his throat had been slit, and almost every post-mortem wound had been left near his heart.**

Akechi pulled out a small diagram littered with marks and notes, and after reading through it he realized this was a list of every wound that had been left on Yosuke's body from Adachi. He set the sheet down beside the box gently before setting one hand on his stomach and another over his mouth. Death and dead bodies never bothered him, obviously, given his hobby. What bothered him about this was the fact that Yosuke had been Souji's lover, had been the one to save Akechi from the storm that night and had his life taken from him so suddenly.

The tears welling in his eyes rolled down his cheeks for almost a full minute before he understood the blur in his eyes wasn't from tiredness or fatigue. He sniffled suddenly and wiped the tears off of his cheeks and from his eyes before clearing his throat. Pulling the file back up he began reading through the notes left in the margins by Souji.

'Yosuke's headphones were mostly intact, sans the left one. Blood had been smeared across the outside of it in a smooth arc. The left speaker had been stabbed as well. His promise ring had been taken; it's never been found. This was the first time the Ripper had taken anything from his victims.'

Akechi's thumb ran over a discolored spot in the paper, noticing a few more of them clustered around and marring the sheet, and he didn't have to wonder for long to figure out these were tear stains left by Souji as he read through the case files late at night when he couldn't will himself to sleep. He could only imagine how horrible it must have been for Souji to read through this, written in such a cold, calculated way about someone who he loved with every fiber of his being; the notes left in the corner and the fact that that he had crossed the word 'victim' out until it was almost completely black and wrote in Yosuke's name in its place were testament enough to that.

This was the only thing he had come here to accomplish, and realistically he could say he couldn't stomach this anymore and that he needed to return to Tokyo, but he had promised Nanako to hang out the next day and couldn't bring himself to break that promise to her. So instead he planned on using the rest of the day to gather as much information as he could on Saki to see if she was worth the effort to be one of Crow's kills or or not. He wasn't sure how much he would be able to find on her from Inaba, but he hoped it would be enough

The day passed by so quickly Akechi didn't even realize how long he had been distracted until Dojima popped his head in to let him know they were going home for the day. The two of them set the cardboard box back into the filing room before heading back home for the night in tense, upset silence. The look on Akechi's face seemed to worry Dojima, as when they stepped onto the porch he reached out to grab Akechi's wrist and squeeze it.

“Hey kid. Are you okay?” he asked quietly. Akechi pursed his lips, not quite sure how much he could realistically tell Dojima why he had gotten upset without raising questions, but eventually decided on a version of the truth he knew he could get away with easily.

“Hanamura-san was the one who brought me to your home that night,” he whispered. “I wasn't aware that the Ripper had...Seta-san never talks about him anymore when we speak.” Dojima's hand stayed wrapped around Akechi's wrist for a few tense moments before finally letting go and clapping against his thigh loudly. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable, Dojima-san.”

“There's no need to apologize, Akechi. And I'm fairly certain Souji would be upset to hear you call him 'Seta-san,' as close as you two are,” Dojima teased before patting his back gently. Akechi chuckled lowly and turned to flash a bright grin at him in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit finally.

“He always tells me to call him Souji but I feel awkward doing so,” he admitted. “Why don't we head inside? There's a bit of a chill in the air, and I'm sure Nanako will be happy to see us back tonight.” Without waiting for an answer he stepped into the house and began kicking his shoes off. “Nanako-chan! We're home!”

“Welcome back! Chie-chan brought some food by from Junes for us just a few minutes ago. She said it was an apology for...something. She didn't really say what,” Nanako said and beamed at them from her place at the table. “Did she do something at work again today?”

“Reading on the job,” Dojima laughed and came over to plop down beside her with a groan. He let his head rest on the table in front of him as his hand settled onto the small of his back again. “Ugh, I'm getting too old...I'm gonna need some heat on this I think.” Without hesitation Nanko stood up and moved over to the kitchen to bring a heating pad down to warm up and set on Dojima's back. An appreciative groan slipped out from his back, and Akechi smiled sadly at him.

Once the pain had dulled away and Dojima was able to sit up again the conversation began to pick back up, happy and pleasant giggles hanging in the air between them until Nanako began yawning and rubbing at her eyes gently. Dojima promptly nudged her in the arm to convince her to leave for bed, and she did so with a gentle hug.

“Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Akechi.”

“Goodnight, Nanako-chan.” Akechi waved to her as she disappeared off to her room for the night, Dojima following soon after with a pitying look back at Akechi as he crawled up onto the couch for the night as well. This time Akechi managed to avoid having nightmares and woke up the next morning on his own with the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. He stretched slowly, wincing a bit as his back cracked yet again, and slid off the couch to pad off into the bathroom.

When he came back out Nanako had settled in front of the stove to make breakfast. Quietly he grabbed his phone from where it sat charging and took a seat at the table to glance through his new notifications.

_Aki-chan  
I missed you last night. Where were you? You okay?_

_I'm fine, I'm just out of Tokyo. I'll be back tonight, however. My apologies for not telling you beforehand._

_I'm not your keeper though so don't worry. But I was lonely. Wanna swing by Leblanc so we can make it up tonight~?_

_You are an insufferable cockslut.  
I'll be there around ten._

Akechi shook his head slowly and turned to the other notifications. Just replies and reposts from his food blog and a message from Sae reminding him she needed him in early the next day, so not to spend too long in Inaba.

“Oh, I just remembered. Seta-san wanted me to tell you and Dojima-san hello for him,” he said. “Would you be willing to make coffee for me?”

“It's already brewing. And tell Big Brother I said hello back!” Nanako chimed with a bright smile. It warmed his heart to see her still so bright and happy at this age, remembering that by this point he had already been thrown from foster home to foster home and barely had a positive influence in his life. He pulled up the message thread with Souji and hummed softly to himself.

_Nanako-chan said hello. I only just remembered to tell her, I'm sorry. And Dojima-san is still asleep._

_He must have managed to get today off. Hopefully he spends the day relaxing. Make sure he doesn't do anything to strain himself for me please?_

_I'll see what I can do, Seta-senpai._

“How do you take your coffee?” Nanako asked from the counter.

“Cream and five spoonfuls of sugar,” Dojima grunted from the side hallway, a grin on his face as he stepped out to sit at the table. “Still such a kid.”

“We had this conversation yesterday, Dojima-san. I'm not a child,” Akechi chuckled as Nanako set his cup of coffee in front of him. He thanked her softly and looked over to Dojima. “Seta-san told me to say hello, and wanted me to make sure you didn't strain yourself doing anything today. I think he expects you to spend the day with Nanako-chan and I.” Dojima snorted at that and grabbed his own cup of coffee.

“Trying to keep an eye on me even when he isn't here. Geeze. Next thing I know I'll have Chie or someone coming by to do the housework,” he grumbled and turned down to his phone. Suddenly Akechi was struck with an idea, and he pulled his own phone back out as he spoke.

“You know Konishi, correct? She runs a blog. I was wondering if you had a link to it? I wouldn't expect you to but-”

“I do!” Nanako chimed in. “I read her stuff from time to time, but I don't think I'll keep up with her writing anymore. Not after what she said about you.” She ran off to her room quickly to grab her phone for Akechi and came back with the page already pulled up. “Do you want me to send you the link or not?”

“Just let me read it on your phone, if you don't mind. I don't want to give her blog anymore attention than it already has,” he explained and carefully took her phone from her hand. As he read the most recent post made he scowled heavily and couldn't stop the choked sound that came out of his throat.

**THE DETECTIVE PRINCE MARK 2? MORE LIKE DEFECTIVE PRINCE As always your lovely reporter was doing her best to bring you the latest news, when she came across a realization that stunned even the great Akechi Goro!**

Akechi paused here, snickering to himself at such a wild claim; he knew for a fact that this 'speculation' came from fan threads about himself and Joker. He occasionally enjoyed reading through them simply for their entertainment value, and to see if he could find anything to work with or, more recently, pass on to Joker.

**Joker blatantly flirting with Crow?! What will the reply be? And will Tokyo be able to handle two killers in love?**

The rest of the post turned out to be nothing more than wild speculation about what Joker and Crow really looked like (apparently Konishi thought Joker wore a wig and Crow was a foreigner. He found it hilarious honestly) and the hilarious idea about them killing together while holding hands. Like that would ever happen. Akechi had his eyes set elsewhere, even if his feelings would never be returned, and holding hands while killing a person together put a bad taste in his mouth. He decided to scroll down her blog to about four years ago, which took a long, long time to get to, and managed to find the post he was looking for in question. His heart jumped into his throat as he read through it.

**SHOCKING NEWS ALERT! A NEW BODY IN INABA! The Ripper strikes again?! Your own courageous writer discovered the body just today! It was hard to tell when he was facing backwards but there's no mistaking those garish headphones! The Inaba Ripper has claimed his first male victim, and it's none other than Prince Annoying of Junes himself, Hanamura-kun!**

He could see pictures down beneath the paragraph but couldn't bring himself to look at them. He didn't need to; they were in such poor taste that Akechi couldn't believe they had been posted. Even if there had been more past the gruesome pictures he couldn't bring himself to continue reading, so he calmly scrolled back up to the top of the page before closing the tab and handing Nanako her phone back.

“Thank you, Nanako-chan,” he whispered and drained half of his cup in one swig. It took him a few moments to collect himself and get his temper under control, but once he had he felt a dry smile coming on and turned to Dojima now. “I suggested we spend the day together. I hope that won't be a problem?” In answer Dojima shrugged, fixing him with a dead tired stare that made his heart hurt a little bit.

“Not sure what we could do all day, but alright. We can figure something out, I'm sure,” he said. Nanako turned around and opened her mouth with every intention of adding to the conversation but stopped herself before she could. Akechi noticed and raised an eyebrow at her in question. She fidgeted slightly before clearing her throat and finally finding her voice.

“...I was thinking maybe you two could help me with my school work. I've got a project coming up and I...I want your help. I know it doesn't sound very fun, but...the last time you helped me with something I got a really good grade on it, Akechi. Do you...would you be willing to...?”

“Of course, Nanako-chan,” he answered without hesitation. She beamed at him and bounced excitedly where she stood.

“Yay! Thank you Akechi!” Quickly she darted around the table to pull him in for a hug, squeezing him painfully tight and wringing the air out of his lungs for the briefest of seconds. When she pulled away she smiled at him again and scrambled back over to the stove to continue making breakfast. Seeing how happy and bubbly Nanako was put Akechi in a much better mood as well, and soon enough he had put the nasty blog posts behind him and focused on finally getting a good day's worth of rest and relaxation.

By the time he had to leave Nanako's project was almost completely finished; everything else that needed to be done she would be able to handle by herself. They had traded numbers with the promise of keeping in touch and letting Akechi know how her project went when she handed it in, and just as he was about to step on his train back to Tokyo, Dojima produced a wrapped present for Akechi to take.

“It's a new book. I figured maybe you would like it,” he said as Akechi began to carefully peel back the decorative wrapping. His eyes lit up as he saw the cover; he'd been meaning to stop by the book store back home to get this book, as it was a new release by his favorite author, and he was afraid he had missed his chance to get it. The joy on his face as he pulled Dojima into a tight hug made him smile back at Akechi. “Glad you like it.”

“Thank you, Dojima-san. This actually means a lot to me,” he said as he pulled away. “I'll definitely enjoy it on my ride home. Please try not to strain yourself so much? Seta-san worries about you.” Dojima huffed at him and rubbed the back of his neck gingerly.

“Yeah, yeah. You're starting to sound like Souji. Now hurry up, before you miss your train,” he said and playfully shoved Akechi backwards. A soft laugh broke free as he stepped on, waving through the window at Nanako and Dojima as he left the station and Inaba behind him. His attention returned to his book, thicker than the others in the series had been, and after contemplating this for a few moments he pulled his phone out.

_Sorry, Akira. I have a date with a book tonight. Rain check on our weekly meeting?_

_Geeze, Akechi. I didn't realize I would have to worry about you cheating on me with a book. You're making me jealous of paper. But yeah. I need to study tonight anyway. Tomorrow night?_

_I should be able to find a way to get free, yes. Looking forward to it._

As he cracked the book open in his lap the scent of new pages hit him and pushed him further into relaxation against his seat, the dull hum of his surroundings fading off into nothingness as he let himself forget everything in his life in lieu of getting the chance to read for the first time in a while.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look honestly I finished this thing at 3:30 in the morning yesterday because I've been so busy finally getting around to playing Persona 3. It's horrible and awful and this chapter is just a touch self-indulgent honestly but IDC. The ball should get to rolling on certain things next chapter, so there's at least that.  
> Also, smut ahoy, mateys.

The next morning, Akechi realized he had the day off from school and did a small celebration dance while cocooned in his blankets. Did he look strange doing so? Absolutely. Could he bring himself to care? Hell no. But the celebration soon died out into a groan of frustration as he realized that while he certainly had the day off from school, the reason for that was because he had to work all day at the station. He contemplated calling in sick and heading over to Leblanc to wait for Akira to get home, but decided against it in the end and forced himself out of bed to take a shower and prepare for the morning.

Killing Konishi would be a petty move, and far below Crow's normal standards, but goddammit she pissed him off. How could someone make a fucking blog post about finding a dead body before notifying the police? Apparently the answer to that question was “Too fucking easy.” He knew he shouldn't let himself get so worked up over this, but he owed Souji so much of his life that anything negative affected him as well. Souji had convinced Dojima to take him in, had trained him how to kill without regret and with ease, given him a fighting chance in life when he could have just as easily turned Yosuke down and said to take him away. He didn't think he would ever be able to repay Souji for his kindness and it burned a hole in the pit of his stomach to remember.

The first deviation from his normal morning routine for the first time in a long time began as him pausing to feed a stray cat a piece of his bagel and turned into him squatting down and petting the stray for almost fifteen minutes. The cat seemed strangely affectionate for a stray, and Akechi wished he could have taken the little furball home but he wasn't sure he'd have the time or dedication necessary for an animal. He did, however, promise himself that he would come feed the kitten whenever he got the chance to.

The second deviation came as he walked up the steps to the station. The doors weren't even open and he could already hear the shrill screaming coming from inside. He recognized the voice from their one brief conversation, looked down at his coffee, and drained half the cup in one go. Today would be a long day, it seemed.

“I was just trying to do my job as a reporter-”

“That spiel again? You said the same thing in front of the cameras, you know,” Akechi sighed as he stepped up behind Konishi, who jumped out of her skin and whipped around in surprise before glaring at him. “Have you finally come to collect your purse? I told you about it two days ago.”

“You say I'm the one that needs to learn some tact, but every time we talk you're so rude to me,” Konishi huffed. “If only the media knew just how awful the Detective Prince really was.” Akechi chuckled with a hand over his mouth and took another sip of coffee. She just made this so esay.

“I'm only awful to people who give me a reason to be, Konishi-san. I'm not normally a spiteful person. Your pushiness and arrogance during my interview, however, seemed to have triggered something in me. Do the people you speak with normally get agitated when they're around you?” Konishi growled in the back of her throat and opened her mouth to say something but a hand settled onto Akechi's shoulder to squeeze.

“Please keep your comments to yourself, Akechi,” Sae sighed. “There's no need to bother Konishi, you know. One moment, I'll have your purse brought out to you.”

“Thank you. At least _someone_ here is a decent person,” Konishi huffed as her arms crossed in front of her. Sae pinched the bridge of her nose, another sigh slipping out, and turned to Akechi.

“Please refrain from causing any more problems, Akechi. She's only here for her purse,” she pointed out to him. From around the corner came another officer, this one holding a massive and gaudy purse covered in bejeweled flowers.

“Sorry for the wait, I di-” Only now did Akechi notice the pen on the floor, and he tried to offer a warning but his voice came out just too slow; his boot slid on the pen and sent him tumbling to the ground, flinging Konishi's purse towards Akechi in the process. Konishi shrieked at this and began ripping into the officer who had dropped her purse on the ground. It turned into background static, however, as Akechi stared at the object that had just fallen out near the officer's foot.

A small ring. A black band, with a slightly cracked faux jade set into the center of it and what looked to be an inscription on the inside of it. Reaching down to pick it up, he glanced on the inside and felt his breath hitch.

'Eternal Partners.'

His stomach dropped out suddenly as he remembered something from the files he'd read two days before. _His promise ring had been taken; it's never been found._

“...and I-what the hell are you doing with my ring? Give that back!” The hand reaching for his snapped him out of his thoughts and gave him enough time to jerk his hand back.

“Where did you get this ring?” Akechi snapped. Konishi leaned back and huffed, hands going down to her hips, and glared at Akechi with every ounce of resentment she could muster.

“That ring belonged to someone who was even more of a pathetic fuckup than that Sakamoto kid,” she explained, completely missing the very visible twitch in Akechi's left eye at that. “Well...I'm not sure he's more pathetic than Sakamoto, actually. I mean, seriously. Why the hell didn't he say anything sooner? There was evidence he could have used against Kamoshida to get him arrested, and he was so fucking pathetic he had to wait until Joker came to save his sorry ass? Pfft. If I were Joker I probably would have left the little runt there until he grew some balls and spoke up. Or Crow would have gotten to him, but he seems to have gotten lazy lately. Anyway. Give me my damn ring back.”

“This ring isn't yours,” Akechi explained. His voice was level but cold, a complete shift from the snarky brat he had been before. Konishi seemed to notice, as a strong chill went straight down her spine. “This ring is missing property and should be returned to its rightful owner. In fact I could charge you with theft and tampering with a crime scene, for this.” Konishi suddenly went from meek to pissed in a split second and snatched at the ring again.

“Give that back, you little runt! That ring isn't yours to take, it's mine, I-”

“Can someone please escort Konishi out of the building?” Sae sighed. A hand settled over her face as two police officers appeared at Konishi's sides to begin leading her out of the police station, still screaming and shrieking for the ring back until eventually the doors shut behind them and muffled her voice almost to nothing more than a bad afterthought. Sae slowly turned to Akechi now, arms crossed over her chest. “Is that ring really stolen property?”

“It is, yes,” Akechi answered. “This ring is technically Seta-san's property. I'll give it to him when I see him again.” Sae noticed a sad undertone in Akechi's voice now that hadn't been there before, and decided that perhaps it would be in her best interest to drop this subject before things could get worse for Akechi.

“I should arrest her for that, but I don't want to deal with her again. I've got a headache. If she comes back the other officers will deal with her. For now, we both have work,” she pointed out and calmly walked off. Once she was fair enough away Akechi turned his attention back to the ring in his hand and let his thumb run gingerly across the thin band.

No wonder nobody had been able to find Yosuke's promise ring. Konishi had obviously taken it from Yosuke's corpse when she found the body and kept it for herself before actually notifying the police. The inscription was a dead giveaway, honestly, and Akechi felt almost certain that if he went back to look over the pictures Konishi had posted on her blog he would have been able to see the ring still on Yosuke's hand. That thought, that realization, hurt more than Akechi would have honestly liked it to.

He slipped the jewelry into his pocket and walked back to his office, settling down slowly into his chair and staring at the screen of his laptop in a daze for a few moments before letting the floodgates open.

Even if Konishi hadn't said it that way, he couldn't help but take what she had said about Crow to mean he had failed to protect Ryuji. Truth be told he had been slacking off lately, too focused on keeping up appearances for interviews and pretending he wasn't avoiding catching Crow and Joker because he _was_ Crow and was fucking Joker to really do anything else.

He should have noticed something was off with Ryuji much sooner, and now he was able to think back to when he first visited Ryuji in the hospital with a clear mind and understand that Ryuji's hesitance to release him hadn't been from pain and missing his friend but fear of being attacked by Kamoshida again during Akechi's absence.

A sudden thought hit him hard enough to physically wind him as strange as that sounded. He could admit that he had gotten lazy lately with his work as crow. Did...did he even really care about justice anymore? The biggest reason he had taken up work as Crow came because he was tired of seeing shitty adults get away with things that they shouldn't, and was tired of seeing shitty adults hurting people that they supposedly loved but obviously didn't.

Before he had thrown himself headlong into his work as Crow and made that his sole purpose, but now things were falling apart. He was working on his own case as a detective and working on the case of his...fuckbuddy as well. Somewhere along the lines he had developed feelings for his best friend and wasn't even sure how to process them, and whether he would admit it or not he had developed feelings for Akira as well.

He needed a bit of stability right now. He needed Akira, goddammit, and he couldn't even be with him because of stupid fucking school.

After fighting with himself for a long while he eventually gave in to his desires and sent a text to Akira.

_Leblanc. After school._

Akechi knew it would be hours before he would be able to see Akira, so in the meantime he attempted to keep himself busy by digging through old case files for a while. Anyone who asked him received the same generic response of 'I was curious and wanted to read through them.' There was no way Akechi could concentrate enough to do any actual work, so this was little more than a formality to appear actually busy when his brain wouldn't stop rolling a thousand miles a minute.

By the time his phone chimed to let him know school would be letting out for Akira he almost felt like he could melt into his desk and disappear from the world for a little bit. The entire time he had been reading he kept berating himself for his work, telling himself over and over again that he was worthless, that he had lost his sense of justice, that he should retire as Crow like Souji did from the Perfectionist and let Joker handle everything himself.

But he knew that wasn't right. He couldn't do that, even if he honestly did want to. Joker struck flashy targets, ones that would cause a huge stir in the media and wouldn't go unnoticed by people. He didn't go for the small fry like Crow did. Abusers, drug dealers, and murderers who had all gotten away completely free due to circumstantial evidence and mishandling from the police be it intentional or accidental were his targets. The ones he could punish with a clear conscience and a light heart.

Stepping into Leblanc with the intent of getting his brains fucked out by Akira felt wholly different than stepping in and with the intent of enjoying a cup of coffee and a bit of friendly banter with Sojiro or Sae. This was the first time he would be coming here on his own and it set every nerve under his skin alight with anticipation. As his eyes locked with Akira's a sort of understanding passed between them which Sojiro blissfully missed.

“Oh hey, Akechi. You want the usual?” he asked as he leaned down against the counter. Akechi's head slowly shook from side to side in answer, his left hand twitching already with the urge to grab Akira and drag him off somewhere else. A plastic smile came to accompany his answer to Sojiro.

“Not this time, actually. I came to speak with Kurusu. It's...important,” he said. The hesitation in his voice made him want to stomp on his own feet, and seemed to worry Sojiro, as it made him pull back and shoot a glare over to Akira.

“Have you been getting into trouble?” he asked suddenly, and immediately Akira wilted under the scrutiny.

“No, I haven't, I swear,” he answered quietly. Sojiro opened his mouth to give a warning and tell Akechi to leave, but the brunette cut in before he could.

“I promise you, Sakura-san, that Kurusu is in no way in trouble. I came here as a friend wishing to speak with him. Please don't be angry with him,” he said. Seeing Sojiro about to lay into Akira reminded him of all the times Shido had laid into him, and Akechi didn't want to risk flashbacks on top of panic attacks and episodes of self-doubt. He didn't feel like bothering a therapist right now.

Sojiro seemed to believe him, as after trading looks between Akira and Akechi he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck gently.

“Sorry. I know you're a detective and all, so I thought the kid might have done something stupid. You two go ahead upstairs, but keep it down. I'm not closing up shop for this,” he warned, and a bit of the tension bled from Akechi's and Akira's shoulders. Akira jerked his head as an indication for Akechi to follow him and began climbing the stairs up to the attic.

Honestly, Akechi wasn't sure what he'd fine up here, but to a dingy room that had obviously been hastily transformed into a bedroom for a teenage boy was far from it. A few unpacked boxes still stood in the corner of the room, in fact, and if Akechi squinted hard enough he felt almost entirely certain that Akira's bed consisted of nothing more than a mattress stacked on top of some old crates with dingy sheets and a thin blanket. His first instinct was to arrest Sojiro for child abuse, but he pushed that down with the harsh reminder that if he did that, then he would lose Akira, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“So, what did you want to-” Akira felt lips crash against his and a tongue force its way into his mouth without warning, and immediately he melted into the kiss with equally heated passion. Hands wove into his hair to pull at it and made him keen in the back of his throat. His hips surged forward on their own to brush against Akechi and felt him already half-hard in his slacks. When they finally pulled away for air Akira forced his eyes opened and found Akechi staring at him intently with wine-dark eyes, causing a shiver to run down his spine. “Akechi the cafe is still open, I don't-”

“Then gag me,” Akechi hissed. “Tie me up, choke me on your cock, I don't care right now. I need to not think for a little bit so I can think about this shit later but right now I need you.” Hearing those words coming out of Akechi's mouth made Akira's breath catch in his throat and his cock jerk against his underwear.

“...So I can do just about anything I wanted to you right now?” he asked.

“ _Yes_. God, Kurusu, are you-” This time Akechi fell quiet to insistent kissing, a hand slowly trailing down his chest and towards his pants to brush against his length. Just that slight pressure pulled a deep groan from his throat and made Akira bite his lip in warning. When they separated Akechi felt a touch lightheaded, both from lack of oxygen and lack of blood flow to his brain, and watched Akira give him a sly, promising smile that made his heart jump.

“Then wait right here. And don't move,” he purred and slid off to one of the boxes in the corner to dig through it. Curious Akechi turned to see what he would return with, and he couldn't quite keep his jaw from falling at what Akira finally pulled out.

“Oh good, your mouth is already open,” Akira hummed and shoved a bright red ball gag into Akechi's mouth. Something that sounded like a protest came from Akechi, but the only response Akira had was to pat his shoulder and move around behind him to fasten the gag. “Hey, you told me to gag you. You sure you're not changing your mind about that part?” When Akechi didn't move or hum an answer his fingers stopped, pinching the leather of the gag together so it wouldn't fall loose, and waited. It took Akechi a few seconds to realize why Akira had stopped, but when he did he finally shook his head slowly from side to side. Immediately Akira's fingers began moving again, and when he was finally done he stepped out in front of Akechi and hummed.

“Not too tight, right?” he asked. He pushed a finger between the leather and Akechi's cheek, glad to see it slide through easily enough, and pulled away to wait for an answer from the other. After another few moments he nodded, and Akira felt himself slip into a place he hadn't had a chance to touch in a long, long while. “Now. Before we do anything, you can't talk. So I'm going to give you a way to let me know if I do something you don't like. Alright? One snap, you want me to slow down, stop whatever I'm doing to you but not stop fucking you, or the gag needs to come off. Two snaps, hard stop. I pull out, the gag comes off, you breathe. Got it?” Another nod, and Akira set two fingers on Akechi's jaw, one on each side. “There's no way you'll be able to keep that on too long, so unless you like the pain, let me know when it's too much.” This time Akechi's nod was gentle, his head settling down into Akira's hand. A shaky sigh accompanied the action, and soon Akira was guiding Akechi down onto to his knees and bending him over the bed.

A confused noise slipped out from the back of Akechi's throat but a hand in his hair and a quiet “Sssshhhh” from Akira silenced him. Deciding it was wholly better to give in to whatever strange things planned for him than continue to argue or question he simply closed his eyes and let himself focus on his surroundings and the sensation of fingers touching him. His coat slid off his shoulders to be folded and set neatly in a chair nearby before hands slid around to the front of his pants to open them.

“The gag will help some of the noise. But you'll still need to try and keep your voice down,” Akira purred in his ear, sending a lovely full-body shiver down his spine and straight to his crotch. His dick jumped against the front of his pants, and he felt Akira's lips curve up against the side of his neck. He gingerly licked the side of Akechi's neck before leaning down to nibble and suck on his shoulders and leave marks. That constant itch underneath his skin had been scratched by Kamoshida, and it would be a long while before it came crawling back to torment him. During calm periods like these Akira found himself much more docile and much less violent in bed.

When he finally pulled Akechi's cock out he couldn't help the hum approval at finding him already half-hard and steadily getting thicker in his hand. He gave a few short little pumps and reveled in the way Akechi's hips jerked forward on their own. His fist uncurled to trail the tips of his fingers up and down the swollen flesh before rubbing at the slit with barely enough pressure to please. A jolt of lust ran through his body at the needy whine Akechi let slip out before he could stop it, face going red almost instantly and color slowly beginning to spread down into his shirt.

A hand slipped underneath Akechi's shirt to begin toying with one of his nipples as the other continued to leisurely stroke his cock. Almost immediately Akechi began squirming to try and push more into both sensations and pull away at the same time. Akira had barely touched him and already his breathing was turning shallow and every bit of blood in his body seemed to be rushing south as quickly as it could. It left him a little bit dizzy at the feeling and made the teasing touches he suffered feel that much more intense to him. A particularly well-timed squeeze to his nipple had his cock oozing a trail of precum onto the floor between his legs.

Both hands pulled away suddenly and left Akechi feeling empty inside before feeling them both settle onto his ass to squeeze it. He pushed back with another needy whine and felt his eyes roll back into his head at the dark chuckle Akira gave him in response.

“So needy,” he whispered as he worked to pull Akechi's pants down. They didn't come off all the way, only pooling down near his knees and keeping him locked in his kneeling position, but Akira wasn't going for full nudity. The sounds of customers downstairs reminded him that they were playing a dangerous came with serious consequences if they lost, but the thrill of getting caught only made the reward feel that much sweeter to him.

The heat pulling away from Akechi's back made him try to follow it, but a hand settled in between his shoulder blades to keep him against the mattress. He thought to fight and continue trying to chase after Akira, but the hand pushed down a bit more firmly and he figured that perhaps it would be in his best interest to listen right now. The hand turned into a finger that trailed slowly down his spine over his shirt, wringing another godforsaken shiver out of him, before pulling away completely.

As it turned out Akira didn't move far, simply leaned over across the bed to fetch something from the other side, and when he settled back down behind Akechi a soft 'pop!' had him drooling more onto the gag and onto the floor at the same time. Warm fingers trailed across his ass for a few seconds before pulling away and leaving him wanting more touch. The edges of his vision had gone soft and blurry, and the only thing he could really focus on now was Akira. When the fingers returned they were much colder and pressing insistently against his entrance, teasing him of what was to come but not quite giving it to him. Again he shoved his ass back and gasped as the tip of one finger just barely pushed inside of him before leaving him.

“Patience, Akechi...don't move. Otherwise I'll sit here and wait,” Akira ordered. Akechi stilled, hands coming up to rest in the blanket of the bed before twisting it in his grip to keep still. His entire body shook with the effort of obeying, the slight jerk of his hips backwards when finally, finally Akira pushed a finger inside the only misstep he allowed himself. He wanted to be good for Akira, he wanted to behave for Akira and that would take very ounce of self-control he could muster.

The finger inside him twisted and twirled around to tease him more and try to get more delicious reactions out of the brunette. Akechi worked his jaw slightly to ease a bit of the tension in his muscles and immediately bit down when Akira's finger pushed against his prostate without warning. Another fresh stream of precum dripped down onto the floor and made a wet plopping sound as it joined the puddle already forming on the wood.

The sound of a button popping open and a zipper separating from itself made Akechi` buck his hips back against Akira's hand as a second finger pushed in to continue stretching him. The fuzz in his brain grew thicker at the delicious feeling of being stretched open and the wet sounds of Akira covering himself in lube. A flood of shame washed through him at the realization that he was kneeling in front of Akira with a damn gag in his mouth and was about to get fucked in the attic of Leblanc during business hours, but instead of killing the hard-on between his legs it made it jerk in anticipation. This didn't go unnoticed by Akira, who reached forward and traced a finger slowly up the underside.

“You're so hard for me...will you be able to keep quiet~?” he purred. He had three fingers pushed into Akechi now to stretch him open and tease him, fingers curling and uncurling to push against Akechi's walls and turn him into a shaking, whimpering mess. Akira felt certain that if Akechi could talk right now he would be begging Akira to hurry up and fuck him already. The thought sent another spike down his spine and almost caused him to pop before the main event.

When Akira pulled his fingers away Akechi whined long and high. Akira shushed him, kissing the tip of his ear and nudging the head of his cock against Akechi's entrance teasingly. He whined again and turned to shoot Akira a glare so he would hurry up. He was greeted with the sight of Akira's eyes blown wide in lust and his tongue swiping across his lips like a hungry animal admiring a fresh kill. Akechi moaned low in his throat and shoved his face into the mattress as Akira finally pushed inside of him.

“Fuck you're so _tight_ ,” Akira breathed. Akechi's entire body twitched as Akira pushed against his prostate, pushing him a little further down onto Akira's cock, and he grunted at the sensation. His hands slowly slid up Akechi's thighs to rest on his hips and squeeze tight, possibly hard enough to leave bruises. The moment his hips fell flush to Akechi's ass he let out a low breath and rest his forehead between Akechi's shoulder blades. He could faintly feel Akechi shuddering underneath him and hear the almost inaudible whimpers whenever his hips pushed forward to tease. His left hand skated along Akechi's skin underneath his shirt to begin toying with his nipples again. A low hiss slipped out when Akechi shoved back against him at the feeling, and finally he began to move.

The first real thrust had every ounce of tension falling from Akechi's muscles and left him lax against the mattress. He felt electricity spark across his nerves and up into his brain before dropping down to set his belly on fire each time Akira pushed into him. The fog over his brain took over completely and left him feeling weightless and not entirely in his own body. His body moved of its own accord to begin pushing back to meet Akira's thrusts a few times before he was caught and the hands at his waist clamped down tighter to hold him still. The whine he let out sounded pathetic and so far removed from how Akechi normally acted it almost ruined the heady feeling he was drowning in.

“Shhhh...I'll give you what you want soon enough,” Akira promised even as his hips continued their slow, lazy rolls forward. It let Akechi feel every inch of Akira as he pushed back in and savored the feeling of being filled before the slow drag of his cock leaving Akechi empty took over. Akechi reached back to try and grab at Akira's hips but found his wrist caught in a vice-grip instead. Akira pushed back in but instead of pulling back left his hips flush to Akechi's and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

“You need to learn to behave,” he whispered, voice dripping with desire and sin. “Otherwise I'll stop. Do I make myself clear?” Akechi nodded vigorously, jaw clenching around the gag in his mouth. Immediately Akira's right hand raised to massage the muscles there gently. “Do you need to keep this in, or can you keep your voice down?” Akechi's eyes flicked off to the side in thought for a moment before his head followed them. “I'm guessing you want me to leave it.” He received a short nod in answer. “Right. Remember what we discussed before?” Silence followed for a moment or two before he gave another nod. “Good. Now try to keep your voice down for me. And don't grab at me again.” 

The hand at Akechi's jaw slowly slid down over his shirt and down towards his aching cock to give it a few quick tugs before moving back to squeeze at his hip. He continued to sit still until Akechi wound his hands into the blanket on Akira's bed again and squeezed his eyes shut in concentration and preparation.

When Akira began to move again the pace increased dramatically. Akira's hands shifted from Akechi's hips down to his ass to provide a bit of a cushion to help keep their skin from slapping together and making too much noise. It kept Akira from pressing all the way inside and drove Akechi up the wall in agony. He wanted to move and coax Akira into giving everything to him but remembered Akira's no-so-subtle warning to behave, and instead he focused everything he had on staying still.

Everything blurred together for him in one long, drawn out moment of absolute ecstasy until suddenly Akira was pulling away from him with a soft swear and forcibly jerking Akechi's pants back up his hips with one hand and unfastening the ball gag with the other.

“Get on the bed and under the blanket now, Sojiro's coming up,” Akira warned, and Akechi forced his limbs to work long enough to do as he was told. Akechi watched the trail of spit connecting his mouth to the gag fall to the sheets as it was tossed behind him and the blanket thrown over him in a hurry. Akira plopped himself down on the wood with his back to the stairs and focused on leveling his breathing out as Sojiro's head crested the top of the stairs.

“It's late and I'm ready to close up. The kid should be heading home soon,” he huffed. Akira turned to Sojiro with a look on his face that didn't quite sit well with Sojiro.

“He's...he's had a really bad day. He only just stopped crying a few minutes ago, I don't...I don't think he should be alone,” he said quietly. Were Akechi in his right mind he would have immediately reached over to slap Akira for using such a horrid excuse for him, but as things stood he couldn't really seem to bring himself to do anything but lay there pitifully with his dick hard and painful between his legs. What little of his face Sojiro could see definitely looked red and angry. “I'm sorry to ask this on such short notice, but...can he stay the night?”

“Just make sure you two don't skip out on school,” Sojiro grumbled as he turned to head downstairs. His feet seemed to drag around the bottom of the shop before Akira heard the bell to the front door chime one last time and the tell-tale 'click' of the lock turning in the dead silence of the now-empty cafe. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in relief and turned to Akechi with a wicked grin.

“Whoops. Didn't realize what time it was,” he chuckled. Akechi shook a bit of the cotton out of his head and sat up now, glaring at Akira and hoping he appeared at least a little bit intimidating. The color still staining his face bright red only made him look like an angry child who had his pacifier taken away.

“What the hell Kurusu?” His tongue stuck against the roof of his mouth as he spoke, and he had to focus to keep his words from slurring. “You told him I had been crying?”

“It was the first thing I could think of,” Akira admitted as he began to pull Akechi down off of his bed and into his lap. “Now why don't we finish what we started, hmm? Sojiro won't be back tonight, so you don't have to be too quiet now.” He shucked Akechi's pants and underwear off somewhere to his right and smirked when he found the brunette still pleasantly hard.

He wasted no time at all in pulling Akechi back down onto his cock, sighing at the deep moan Akechi let loose. His fingers threaded into Akechii's hair to pull him down into a heated kiss while Akechi's hips began to rock in a clumsy and unsteady tempo to chase that high he'd gotten so close to having before. All it took to pull him over the edge was Akira thrusting up to meet Akechi's thrusts and a hard jerk of his hair, and then everything went white.

The world around him ceased to exist for a few glorious moments before the haze of his orgasm dissipated and left him whining instead from over-stimulation. Akira had rolled him onto his back and was pounding into him mercilessly, rhythm jerky and awkward as he pushed himself towards his own peak. When he finally hit it his back straightened out completely and his eyes rolled back into his head. Akechi shivered at the warmth that flooded his insides and the near painful grip Akira had on his hips. When Akira had finally come back to his own mind he slumped forward and let his head rest on the floor beside Akechi's.

“That was the best sex. I've had in a long while,” Akira admitted. A few drops of sweat rolled down and dripped onto Akechi's stomach and chest as they rested to catch their breaths. When Akira pulled away Akechi's face betrayed the sadness he felt at being left empty before disgust took its place at the feeling of Akira's cum inside him. “I think the bathhouse should still be available right now...the heat might do us both some good.”

“Mmm,” Akechi hummed and forced himself into a sitting position. He felt his ass would almost assuredly be sore the next day, but at this point he really couldn't care. He couldn't even remember anything from today other than the delicious imprint of Akira's dick inside of him and the way his orgasm had thrown him into blissful nothingness. His shirt clung to him and the dried sweat cooled his skin enough to cause shivers.

“So?” Akira asked.

“Later,” Akechi whined and stretched the muscles in his back and legs. “We need to plan our next moves first...”

“You're really going to ruin the afterglow with work talk?” Akira teased as a hand slowly ran through his hair to push it out of his face. “Maybe I should start implementing a rule. 'No work talk for at least an hour after sex.' Just once I'd like to fuck you and be able to enjoy it without you bringing that shit up.”

“I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a hurry. The media are trying to sink their teeth into Ryuyu and-”

“Yeah yeah, I know,” Akira sighed. If Akechi had been paying attention he would have noticed the slight tinge of jealousy in his voice. The memory of him moaning Ryuji's name the first night they had sex played for him and made his gut twist. He thought he wouldn't get jealous about this, but it appeared he was wrong. “So you're actually serious about Joker and Crow flirting?”

“Dead,” Akechi said, chuckling softly at his own pun. “I assume I'll be the next one to make a kill out of the two of us, meaning I'll need some way to flirt back with you but not pull attention away from their crimes. Flashy but subtle, if that's even possible.”

As Akira moved to retrieve Akechi's pants and underwear for him he began throwing darts at ideas in his head. Have Akechi torture the next victim before he beheads them? No. Too much trouble, too much time, and there's no guarantee Akechi would be able to do it safely. Word the victim's crimes so that the first letter of each line or paragraph spelled out Joker? No...too subtle in that case; there was no guarantee anyone would really notice it until it was too late.

Just as he stopped in front of Akechi to hand his clothes over a light bulb seemed to go off in the brunette's head.

“A playing card,” he breathed. Akira raised an eyebrow in question at him and earned a chuckle in response. “It's genius! Akira, do you have any spare joker cards left? The ones you use for your calling cards?” The light seemed to move over to Akira's head now as a wicked grin split his lips.

“You think I don't have spare joker cards, Akechi? What do you take me for, an amateur?” he chuckled. “Let me know when you're ready to kill the next time and come by Leblanc. I'll have a card for you to use. But what exactly are you going to do with it?”

“Paint a heart on it in her own blood and stick it in her mouth,” Akechi said matter-of-factly as he dressed. “I already have my target picked out.”

“That Konishi chick right? The I saw on TV during your interview? What did she do exactly?” he asked. A shadow crossed Akechi's features and darkened them suddenly. Akira decided he didn't like that look on that pretty face. “...Personal?”

“I'll tell you once the police have found her head,” Akechi promised quietly. He squirmed as he realized Akira never bothered to clean him out and a trail of cum slid down his thighs and stained the inseam. “Damn, I should have thought...I'll need to wash these before tomorrow. Do you-”

“Have any clothes you can borrow? Yeah. I've got an extra shirt and some sweats that might fit you,” Akira said and began digging through some of his boxes again. “There's a laundromat right outside the bathhouse, so when we go in we can drop your clothes off in the wash while we're in there.” He came away holding a pair of black sweatpants and a black tank top in his hands. “Pretty sure you're gonna wanna clean up before we head out, so head down to the bathroom and take care of that then change. I'll be waiting at the door.” The look of joy on the other's face made Akira smile brightly, and he happily passed the clothes off before heading downstairs and sliding into a booth to wait for Akechi.

When the brunette finally stepped out his eyes drooped with a want for sleep and his legs seemed to move so slowly as he walked over to Akira, who chuckled and pulled himself to his feet.

“Let's go then. Tonight's a medicinal bath, and your clothes will be clean by the time we get out,” he promised and took Akechi's free hand to lead him. It was a little bit later than he normally came here, but he didn't think it would cause too many problems. And besides...

Akechi could go for a hot soak and some fresh clothes, honestly.

 

Ryuji set a box off to the side with a quiet grunt and straightened his back out slowly. Kamoshida hadn't done anything to that, thankfully, but the strain of moving so many boxes around his apartment sent tinges of pain all along his spine. He hadn't done much lifting since his leg broke last year and it was beginning to show. Honestly he hadn't done much of anything physically, and his figure was beginning to suffer from it. The muscles he had worked so hard on had begun to soften into pockets of fat that jiggled when he moved wrong and he despised it.

He wondered if maybe he should start trying to work out again. Hauling boxes of his things around seemed to give him a pretty damn good workout so far, and he would be moving everything off to Yuuki's the next day after school. After that he could go for a run and-

His leg throbbed in a painful reminder that no, he couldn't go for a run, because he could barely even make it through the school day without ending up in bed afterwards. As much as he would like to believe otherwise he knew that realistically he wouldn't be able to run for at least another year or so. Not the way he used to anyway.

He shuffled over to his couch and flopped down onto it with a groan. The hustle and bustle of the city outside his windows gave him the background noise he needed to disappear into his thoughts for a little while. At first everything was fine, as he thought mostly about school or Akira or Akechi. But then his thoughts drifted off elsewhere, and before he knew it he was remembering Kamoshida.

More than just his leg twinged in pain when he remembered the first time Kamoshida had fucked him. Tears burned his eyes and his chest constricted as he remembered screaming and crying for Akechi to come save him, only...he hadn't called him Akechi. That had been the first time since he turned six that he'd called his friend anything else but Go-chan, and the name tasted like acid to him. But he'd begged not just his friend who had come back into his life again after almost eight years apart that he trusted with his life, but also the ace detective who could find the evidence needed to pin Kamoshida's crimes on him and send him to jail.

But that never happened. When Akechi had come to visit he'd gone dead silent and only begged over and over again for hugs. For Akechi not to leave him alone and risk Kamoshida making another appearance to hurt him. Even after he had been released he could never get the courage to tell his friend what had happened to him. It would have been so easy, Akechi would have believed him without question and done everything in his power to prove Ryuji was telling the truth, but...the realization that Kamoshida would find out about it almost immediately always kept him quiet.

Kamoshida was gone, obviously, but Ryuji's brain wouldn't let himself believe it. He would go to school tomorrow and the perverted bastard would be waiting there for him with an angry look on his face and blaming Ryuji for the stupid calling card prank no matter how many times he swore up and down that he had nothing to do with it. Then he'd get thrown against the desk and fucked no matter how much he begged Kamoshida to stop, let him go, it hurts please no-

Bile rose in his throat and made him scramble off to the bathroom to lose what little dinner he had been able to stomach. He hated that he seemed so fixated on what Kamoshida had done to him but it had been his reality for an entire year. Thinking about it made his skin crawl and made him lose himself in his own head. The feeling was unpleasant and left him feeling vulnerable and reminded him just how weak and pathetic he was. Joker killing Kamoshida was the only reason he found himself free of the abuse, not his own strong-willed tenacity finally stepping in and making him grow a pair of balls.

The taste of his dinner lingered in his throat and mouth unpleasantly, so he scrubbed at his teeth harder than he needed to and didn't feel the least bit surprised when he found blood in the sink.

When he stepped back into the living room and saw his things piled up in one corner of it he realized the place he had called home for the last year wouldn't be his home anymore. That starting tomorrow he would be staying on a tentative friend's couch because his parents were hardly ever home to check on things anyway, and if they showed up Yuuki could just say he was staying for a little bit because he was lonely. Ryuji wasn't sure how long he would be staying with Yuuki, but he figured it would probably be for a good long while.

He made himself a small snack to replace the food he'd lost and settled down onto the couch to watch TV for a while. There wasn't really much of interest on for him to watch, so he left it on something to give him some background noise and instead began playing around on his phone.

After about an hour enough of a chill settled into the apartment that Ryuji slid into his bedroom to pull his blanket off and bring it back into the living room to sit under. The news came on, playing a clip of Akechi's interview from two days ago, and Ryuji decided to turn the volume up and listen to it.

_“...named victim of Kamoshida. Sakamoto Ryuji, right~?” Something in Akechi's face shifted enough for the hostess_ (and Ryuji) _to notice. Her eyes lit up bright and she leaned forward to get a bit closer to him. “Oh, so you were on a date with him!”_

_“It wasn't a date. It was a celebration for a very private and very meaningful day. I ask that we drop this line of questioning where it stands, and I ask that you leave him out of this mess,” Akechi snapped immediately. The hostess reeled back from the harshness of his tone. “My apologies, but Ryuji and I are very close friends and seeing him unable to even go to school without being followed upsets me greatly.”_

_“Well how can the reporters resist? It's not every day a victim is actually named in one of Joker's confessions so explicitly. He'll just have to learn to deal with it I suppose.”_

Ryuji would have shut the TV off right there if it weren't for the fact that his friend seemed to have an immediate response to her words.

_“Or perhaps people could have some decency towards a victim of sexual assault and leave him in peace as he comes to terms with the fact that everyone knows what his abuser did to him now,” Akechi said. “I understand reporters need news to keep their careers going, but I do wish some of them would show some sort of tact.”_

Ryuji chuckled under his breath at how awkward the hostess suddenly seemed from Akechi's forcefulness. He'd seen Akechi in countless interviews, but this was the first time he had heard the detective get so testy over a subject. And that was exactly what Akechi's mood during the interview had become; he could pick out the very subtle wrinkle in Akechi's forehead and the slight upturn of his lips that told how close he actually was to losing his cool. Ryuji had seen these expressions enough times to be able to pick them out without effort.

He watched the hostess' eyes dart around for a few brief seconds before awkwardly laughing in an attempt at breaking the tension.

_“Wh-why don't we turn to the audience for some questions?”_

Ryuji smiled as he clicked the TV off, the newscaster getting into a discussion with her partner about when a line should be drawn in regards to reporting crimes and their victims, and tossed the remote off somewhere else in the room. Hearing someone defend him so adamantly made his heart flutter a little bit. Understanding that it had been Akechi pushing to keep the conversation off of him and his private life made his stomach flip and twist.

He couldn't believe just how hard he had fallen for his best friend and for some strange reason he felt so pathetic for it. He would scrub at his skin until it bled if it meant he could get rid of these emotions and just go back to thinking of Akechi as his friend and not somebody he would gladly spend the rest of his life with in a very romantic sense.

But...Akira had come into his life so suddenly, done so much to help Ryuji even after being constantly pushed away, and even after finding out what Kamoshida had been doing to him and even after being yelled at he still extended a hand in friendship. He felt stupid for developing feelings for someone so quickly and chalked it up to being an emotional wreck from an entire year's worth of abuse at the hands of one of his teachers. The way his heart would shoot up into his throat when Akira flashed him that warm smile always made him want to bury his head into his arms and never look up again.

It took him a long while to realize the wetness on his hands came from the fresh tears rolling down his cheeks and not lingering sweat from packing everything in his apartment up. The ache in his muscles demanded he do something to soothe them, and in the end he decided that a nice shower might do him some good at this point. Or maybe...yeah. He hadn't been to the bathhouse nearby in a long, long while. He'd been too busy with Kamoshida and just trying to scrape by on the skin of his teeth. And really...

Ryuji could go for a hot soak and some fresh clothes, honestly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay like, I know I always talk about how happy I am with how these chapters turned out and how glad I am for everyone liking these characterizations but honestly most of this is erihan's work? She throw ideas out and we figure out how to make them work and then I just make everything look pretty LOL. A few things here and there are suggestions I've thrown out but most of this is her work and I almost feel like I'm taking credit for the entirety of this when I am NOT ashamed to admit that if I get stuck on something I will absolutely ask her what I should do to get over it LOL. I really don't think I could ask for a better co-author or girlfriend. <3  
> There's also a neat, very subtle Easter egg in this chapter. The first person to figure it out gets a fic of their choice from Persona 3/4/5, within reason, as there are certain things I won't write LOL. But those details can be hammered out later. If nobody's figured it out by Tuesday, I'll update the chapter notes with a hint, and then another one on Thursday. If nobody's gotten it by Sunday I'll post the answer in next chapter's notes LMAO.  
> Hint #1: The Eater egg has to do with Persona 4 the game, specifically the first month of it. Next one comes Thursday and will be much more specific.  
> Hint #2: Hi I was busy all day and only just got around to this, the second hint is the Easter egg has to deal specifically with Konishi, and happens before her head gets cut off but during her trial.

The hot water felt wonderful against Ryuji's skin as he slid in and relaxed. Almost as soon as he had settled into the water his muscles began to release the tension they had so stubbornly held on to for the last few hours and turned into something Ryuji could tentatively say he would be able to sleep with. The pain still wasn't gone completely but it had certainly dulled down quite a few notches. He even managed to loosen up enough to begin falling asleep in the water against his better judgment.

He heard voices carry through the steam, low enough that he couldn't understand them and couldn't decide if he knew them or not, and immediately he decided that he would leave if they turned out to be too unfriendly or prying towards him. One of them laughed and Ryuji's face betrayed his confusion as the first person stepped in.

“Go-chan?” he asked quietly, his face lighting up when he saw a head jerk up to look in his direction. “Go-chan, what are you doin' here this late!?”

“Ryuyu? I could honestly ask you the same thing,” Akechi chuckled and stepped over to slide in beside him. “Shouldn't you be asleep right now? You have school in the morning.” Ryuji's face flushed from something else besides the heat of the water as he quickly averted his eyes.

“Been packin' all day. Movin' in with Yuuki tomorrow after school, and everythin' hurt, so...” He shrugged, figuring that would be enough to get the point across. It seemed to be as Akechi chuckled lowly and sent Ryuji's stomach to start flipping and his heart to start hammering against his chest.

“You should have texted me, Ryuyu. I would have freed my schedule to come help you so you wouldn't be doing it alone,” he said. “Do you need a massage, perhaps? It would help you out and-”

“No, I'm fine,” Ryuji cut in just a little too quickly. He let himself sink down a little further into the water and began doing mental acrobatics to avoid staring at Akechi beside him. He knew about Akechi's hobby for bouldering, he knew that took a lot of strain and a lot of stamina, but seeing just how fit Akechi actually was underneath his clothes made his mouth go dry and his brain cease functioning.

The problem only compounded on itself when the second person he had heard before appeared.

“Oh hey Ryuyu. I thought I heard Akechi talking to someone,” Akira hummed as he walked over to join them. “Glad to see I'm not the only one staying up later than I should.”

“Like I told Go-chan, I was packin' all day,” he muttered while staring at the water. “I'm movin' in with Yuuki tomorrow after school.”

“Oh, I didn't know Yuuki's parents had let you move in. That's sweet of them,” Akira hummed and let himself slide just a little bit further into the water. He groaned lowly as the heat spread up his back, and Ryuji felt certain he had died and gone to heaven.

Akira looked just as fit as Akechi, and maybe even a little more so. Ryuji didn't think he had much muscle on him, given his slim frame, but seeing Akira without a shirt on proved him wrong. Ryuji tried his best to act as casual as he could about this but he knew he was failing miserably. For whatever reason Akechi and Akira seemed to not feel the need to point it out, and Ryuji silently thanked them for it.

“You want me to-”

“Do you work out, Aki-chan?” Ryuji internally cringed at just how forward he had gotten and quickly scrambled to save face. “Because I was wantin' to but I don't wanna do it myself. And Go-chan's usually busy so I can't ask him...and the reporters 'nd shit make it hard to really do anythin' by myself lately...” His voice trailed off near the end, and a pang of regret hit him hard enough to make him clear his throat to level his voice out. He shouldn't have asked Akira, he shouldn't have tried to butt in on this. “N-never mind. I'll manage on my own, I-”

“Hey. Ryuyu. It's fine,” Akira said lowly, and the rest of Ryuji's apology and protest died on his lips at just how gentle Akira's voice was. “You don't have to apologize for asking. But yeah, I do, upstairs in Leblanc. Not the best place though, and I doubt you can safely use the support beam like I do.” Ryuji finally made eye contact with Akira and felt his heart warm at the gentle and understanding expression Akira gave him. Just that little bit let him relax so much more around his friends.

“There's a gym we could hit up when we're both free. Been there a few times, but I didn't wanna stick around by myself,” Ryuji explained. “Not tomorrow obviously, 'cause I'll be movin' to Yuuki's, and I'll prob'ly be too damn sore the day after for it, but...how about Friday?” Akira hummed and let his head fall back behind him in thought. Sojiro had been asking him to help out more often as of late,, but he felt as if he could tell Sojiro he wouldn't be able to work Friday since he had three days' warning. It would be weird actually setting foot in a gym, but he would do it for Ryuji.

“Yeah, Friday should be good,” he said and raised his head to look over at Akechi now. “Guessing you won't be joining us?” Immediately Akechi's hands raised and he shook his head slowly from side to side.

“I'm afraid not. I...I don't do well around other people honestly,” he admitted. “Perhaps later on down the line, but not this week.” Akira shrugged, and both Akechi and Ryuji watched a trail of sweat drip down his neck down towards his chest.

“That's fine. I mean, this is only the...what, second time we've met? Something like that,” Akira pointed out. “I honestly forgot we don't know each other that well yet. Maybe we should try to fix that? I live above Leblanc, so I'm always there, and you like to come around for coffee from time to time, so...” Akechi could read the look on Akira's face and it sent a shiver down his spine for some reason. Maybe because that look brought back memories of their usual weekend activities, or maybe because it brought back memories of having his face shoved into Akira's mattress while his soul tried to exit his body. He couldn't decide which answer was the correct one, so he dropped that line of thinking in lieu of finally answering Akira.

“I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other then. As Ryuyu's friends it would probably be a good idea for the two of us to get along with each other, after all,” he said with a small smile and a gentle tilt of his head. Ryuji and Akira felt the flushes on their skin deepen at just how cute Akechi looked when he smiled like that.

“Yeah...you're not wrong,” Akira agreed. “Maybe we should start meeting up for study sessions or something then?” Ryuji laughed nervously and scratched at the side of his nose gently.

“I don't really think that's necessary, you two,” he said. Akechi immediately reached over to playfully pinch Ryuji's cheek between two fingers that made him whine at the slight sting in his skin.

“We've had this discussion about your grades once before, Ryuyu, and I told you I would help you study while I was here if you needed it. Obviously you do,” Akechi huffed and pulled his hand away. “So we're going to start meeting up once a week for study sessions. How about...Saturdays after school?” Akira's eyes immediately flicked over to him in question; Saturdays were when he and Akira met up to fuck and plan their work. But then he felt himself smile a little as he realized this would make their meet-ups far less suspicious to Sojiro or anyone involved.

“Saturdays should work,” Akira said. “Can head straight to Leblanc after school and stay there until Sojiro kicks us out.” His toe brushed against the bottom of Akechi's foot and he couldn't help but laugh when the brunette jumped in surprise. “Could make coffee and curry for us. My treat. Sojiro can take it out of my pay.”

“I'm pretty sure he doesn't pay you, Kurusu,” Akechi sighed. “But...that does sound nice for studying, honestly...I'm used to doing so by myself, and it sometimes gets hard to focus on things. Perhaps having company will make things go a little easier?”

“Doubt it~ Aki-chan'll prob'ly talk your head off the whole time and not get anything done,” Ryuji argued, hand rubbing at his cheek to ease the pain he still felt from the pinch. The pout he had been wearing for a few moments suddenly turned into a bright, sunny smile, and both Akira and Akechi felt their hearts jump at just how beautiful Ryuji looked. “But it might be fun too! I'm game.”

“...As am I,” Akechi breathed. Ryuji turned to him with that same sunshine smile still on his face, and he forgot how to breathe for a few beautiful seconds. When Ryuji turned to speak to Akira instead Akechi felt like he had been plunged back into darkness, and a thick wave of jealously slammed into his chest. He couldn't hear what Ryuji and Akira were talking about at this point, all he could focus on was Ryuji's soft hands flailing around in excitement and the way the water curled around his supple hips and the scars on his-

The scars. Those weren't there the last time Akechi had seen Ryuji. They looked a little fresh, like the wounds had only been inflicted in the last few months. His hand moved without him wanting it to and found itself tracing across an angry red one just under Ryuji's ribs. The blond's hand smacked at his to get it away and immediately curled his body away to protect the scar, which only showed a few other ones off in the bright lighting.

“H-hey. Don't...don't touch those, man,” he muttered. Akira finally seemed to notice the blemishes too, as his eyes darkened with what Akechi could only describe as pure rage. He seemed to be in better control of his hands, however, as he didn't try to reach forward to touch any of the marks.

“Forgive me, Ryuyu,” Akechi whispered. Ryuji settled back into his place from before but the damage had already been done; every few seconds he would side-eye Akechi and flick his eyes down to track where the detective's hands were settled under the water. After an entire agonizing three minutes Ryuji finally sighed and let his head hang forward until his chin touched his chest.

“I should prob'ly get home soon. It's late, 'nd we got school in the morning,” he sighed as he stepped out of the bath. The warmth hadn't completely dissipated from his skin yet, but enough had that he shuddered involuntarily at the cold. “I'll see you tomorrow, Aki-chan. Night. Night to you too, Go-chan.”

“Goodnight, Ryuyu.”

“Night.” Akech and Akira watched him as he slipped through the door leading out, neither one quite sure how to react around the other after what had discovered. Akechi couldn't take the silence between them after how lively the conversation had been before and decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

A bad decision, he realized a split second after the words left his mouth.

“How are you so good at sex?” he asked. There was an obvious lag between the words leaving Akechi's mouth and Akira's brain processing what he had asked, but once it had steel eyes widened in surprise before their owner balked in disbelief.

“Did...did you really just ask about my sex life before you? Are you jealous or something?” Akira laughed. Akechi's mouth flopped open in an attempt to defend himself but the only sounds he produced were choked little sounds that sounded suspiciously like him trying to keep his voice down in bed. When Akira had finally calmed down enough to answer, Akechi realized just how handsome Akira was when he smiled, and wished he could see it more often. “To answer your question, I slept around a lot back home. Small town, easy to slip off in the middle of the night to someplace bigger...wasn't too hard to get someone willing to fuck me.”

“I...didn't actually expect you to answer,” Akech admitted quietly. “I thought most people didn't like to talk about their previous partners.” This time Akira snorted at him and shook his head slowly from side to side.

“We aren't in a relationship, so it's not a big deal. Geeze, you talk like you were a virgin before you got with me,” Akira teased. When Akechi didn't immediately answer he leaned forward in the water to get a better look at the brunette's face. “You were, weren't you?”

“Sh-shut up! No I wasn't. It was just...significantly harder to find partners willing to bed me while swearing secrecy. It's difficult to wave off rumors of you going home with an older gentlemen. Much harder than it is to dismiss someone claiming to see someone walk into a love hotel with a young woman,” he said. “As a detective it's my duty to uphold the law, of course, but...you see how well I've been accomplishing that for the last three, four years of my life.”

“So what, was I your first guy then? Did I pop your ass cherry or something?” Akira laughed almost like a hyena now, obviously enjoying the chance to tease his companion as much as he could. “Please tell me I did. Please, I need that ego boost right now.”

“You most certainly did not 'pop my ass cherry,' as you so eloquently put it,” Akechi snapped. “Obviously you didn't listen to the words that came out of my mouth a few moments ago. Why do you think I'm so quick and willing to crossdress? And besides, while I'm sure my sexual history isn't as plentiful as yours is, I'll have you know that I at least attempted to maintain some sort of lasting relationship with my partners!” The last of the laughter died on Akira's lips suddenly, his smile dropping into a grimace and his eyes glassing over slightly, like he was lost in thought suddenly. Akechi worried that perhaps he had said something wrong and decided to reach out and attempt to provide comfort. “Akira.?”

“I had a...guy I liked. Before I came here,” he admitted quietly. “We were...we were really close. I thought I loved him. He was a bit a kid from my class. He was awkward and clumsy and cute and when he blushed I thought he looked like a cherub.”

“Akira...?”

“We slept together a lot but he was a great guy. I wanted to be with him outside of sex and....” A drop of something that looked suspiciously like a tear rolled down Akira's cheek from the corner of his eyes to drip into the water. “He was too scared. And I...I didn't mind. But my parents found out, because they caught us kissing in my room. They yelled and screamed and I was in so much fucking trouble. They threatened to tell his parents if he didn't leave and never talk to me again and-”

“Akira.” The hand that settled on his shoulder helped pull him out of his memories and helped him collect his thoughts so he could properly finish his story now.

“My parents weren't happy when they figured it out. Obviously. They wanted to maintain their image, and if anyone important found out that their son wasn't completely straight it would cause a huge scandal for them. When I got shipped off here I planned on getting a girlfriend. To make them happy. But you...” He bit nervously at his lower lip now, realizing how this sounded, how he could possibly continue this conversation and how he could absolutely destroy the dynamic he had going with Akechi.

It almost sounded like he was trying to confess to Akechi.

“'But I' what?” Akechi asked, and if Akira thought he looked almost a little hopeful then he could easily tell himself that it was his own imagination.

“But you're just too much fun to fuck,” Akira hummed and pulled Akechi into a heated kiss. Their tongues slid together easily and lit a fresh fire in Akira's belly, one arm lazily wrapping around Akechi's shoulders while his other slid down to the top of the water only to be stopped by a tight grip on his wrist. The kiss broke with a whine and Akira pleading with his eyes for them to continue. “Akechi~”

“We have school tomorrow, and I have to give Joker my reply We need to sleep.” Akechi calmly pulled away to step out of the bath while pointedly ignoring the whines he could hear behind him. “Come along, Kurusu.”

 

Ryuji set the last of his boxes in the corner of Yuuki's room and turned to look at Yusuke, who was sitting on Yuuki's bed with his legs crossed and a sketchbook in his lap already marked with pencil. After spending a few moments debating with himself about whether or not it would be rude to look over Yusuke's shoulder at his work, Ryuji decided that Yusuke could easily tel him to get away if it really honestly bothered him. He shuffled over to the bed and carefully slid up onto it to get a better look at what the artist was working on. What he saw made his cheeks heat up in mild embarrassment.

For some reason Yusuke had decided to sketch Ryuji as he moved boxes around the small bedroom. One showed him bent over to dig through one box for his school uniform, while another showed him propping his bad leg up on one box to give it a bit of a break from the heavy movement. A few more rough ones captured a nasty scowl on his face (Ryuji had kicked a box with his bare feet and caught the corner of it) and another showed him laughing at some random and poor joke that Yuuki had made to him about foxes and weddings.

“Hey...why are you drawin' me so much?” Ryuji asked quietly. Yusuke paused his pencil stroke and blinked seemingly in surprise and confusion before actually taking in what he had drawn. A quiet chuckle bubbled up on his lips and only made Ryuji's embarrassment even worse. “Don't laugh at me!”

“I assure you, I'm not laughing at you, Sakamoto,” Yusuke answered. “I'm laughing at myself. Yuuki has noticed that I have a certain habit of using people as models without them realizing I'm using them. But the expressions you were making and the lines of your body as you work provided me with such inspiration...the faces you make are wholly different and unique from the expressions I'm used to seeing when I work with people.” Ryuji scowled again, and he dimly noticed that it probably looked almost exactly like the scowl in Yusuke's sketchbook, and shifted a bit on the bed to make his leg more comfortable.

“The hell does that mean?” he asked. Yusuke very gently set his pencil down in a case that sat on his opposite side and set both hands on his sketchbook as he spoke.

“Normally the models I work with are stiff. Trained in the art of delicate beauty to attain the most pleasant look and expression possible. They are meant to sit or stand tall and straight, and getting them to show any emotion is usually the equivalent of pulling teeth. But you...you have fluidity to you. Dare I say you have more humanity than most people I have met working under Sensei. As much as I care for him, and as beautiful as I find him, even Yuuki remains rigid and withdrawn in my presence. It...saddens me.” Now it was Yusuke's turn to scowl, and Ryuji would be blind to not admit Yusuke looked as beautiful as the models he seemed to dislike.

“Hey man...he's been through a lot, you know? It's gonna be a bit before he can completely relax. I mean...Kamoshida was blackmailin' the poor kid about your relationship. He prob'ly feels like he's still gotta be careful with you,” Ryuji pointed out. “Give him a bit to open up some, yeah?” Yusuke sighed and let his thumb run across the spiral holding his sketchbook together as he gathered his thoughts.

Ryuji was right, and he knew it. He didn't completely understand trauma like this, as Madarame had never done anything like this to him, but he understood enough to know that it would affect Yuuki and even Ryuji for a while. Given the nature of Kamoshida's threats it wasn't surprising in the least bit that Yuuki forced himself to remain withdrawn around Yusuke still. With Kamoshida gone, however, he expected that to change with enough time, and even with a bit of gentle affection from Yusuke. He knew he wouldn't be able to fix Yuuki, but he hoped that he would at least be allowed to help.

“...Thank you, Sakamoto. You helped put a few things into perspective for me, actually...this conversation proved extremely helpful. Now I suppose I should ask you if you would be willing to continue modeling for me,” he laughed softly.

“I think I can do that. But under one condition,” Ryuji said sternly. Yusuke turned to stare at him with a questioning look in his eyes, and Ryuji couldn't help but laugh again. “You gotta call me Ryuji instead of Sakamoto. You're Yuuki's boyfriend, I think it'd be kinda awkward for you to keep callin' me that.”

“...If it's what you prefer, then I believe I can do that for you,” Yusuke hummed and plucked his pencil back out of its case. “Yuuki waned me to ask you what you would like for dinner, by the way. Do you have anything you would want him to make?” Ryuji scrunched his face up in thought at the question.

“...Maybe some stir fry? Haven't had any in a while,” he admitted. “If not it's cool! I'll be fine. I don't wanna be a bother.”

“You're hardly a bother, Saka-err...Ryuji. Yuuki would not have asked if he hadn't expected you to request something. I'll let him know now,” he said and slipped his phone out of his pocket.

“Where's Yuuki anyway?” he asked and flopped down onto his back on the surprisingly soft bed. He almost felt a little bit jealous that Yuuki had such a nice bed while he was stuck on the couch in the living room. “Woulda thought he'd be helpin' me move.”

“He went to the store to get drinks for us,” Yusuke answered and set his phone back down onto the bed face-down. “...Oh. I was meant to ask you what drinks you would prefer...”

“Don't worry about it. I'm sure Yuuki'll grab stuff I drink,” he said and let his eyes slip closed. The plush bed felt heavenly against his back and seemed to be lulling him into a nice, relaxing state of mind. It wasn't much longer before he was out like a light and snoring softly.

Yusuke moved as quickly and as quietly as he could to begin sketching Ryuji's sleeping figure, inspiration hitting him full-force again and carrying him well through the night until Yuuki poked his head in to get their attention for dinner.

 

Konishi's head _hurt_. She didn't remember much, just walking down the street minding her business and digging in her purse and then...nothing. Her wrists burned and after tugging at them experimentally she realized they were tied together behind her back. She had been dropped onto her knees with her head leaning forward on a wooden crate, and a mixture of confusion and anger hit her at once.

It seemed she was about to be executed by beheading.

“Konishi Saki, for the crimes of trespassing, breaking and entering, harassment, stalking, being the driving force of the suicide of-”

“Wha...?” She knew that voice. She'd fought with that voice just a few days ago, and she couldn't really believe it. “Akechi?”

“-tampering with a crime scene and showing absolutely no goddamn tact upon finding Hanamura-san's body, as judge jury and executioner, I sentence you to death.” A hand fisted in her hair and pulled her up to meet Crow's eyes darkened with rage and hatred and bloodlust. “Do you even give a damn about the people who's hardships you report on? Do you even care what happens to them!? Have you ever had a goddamn kind bone in your body!?”

“Wha...what the fuck? _You're_ Crow!? How...” And then everything made sense. The way that Crow never seemed to get caught dropping an actual human head on the steps of whatever police station he left his victim's heads on, how he knew exactly what crimes they were guilty of and gotten away with, how he seemed to always be three steps ahead of the police when looking for him.

He worked for them, knew every move they would make, and was unofficial head of the fucking case. He would never be caught unless he slipped up, and that would never happen.

“Surprised, Konishi? Most people are when they see who I am,” he snapped and dropped her head back onto the crate. Konishi tried to move but her limbs felt so goddamn heavy. “Don't bother trying to fight, either. There's a drug in your system that leaves you unable to move much. Courtesy of some...less than reputable connections I have, thanks to my father.” The tip of something terrifyingly sharp rested against the back of her neck and sent a strong shiver down her spine. “Should I make your death quick? Or should I draw it out like Joker does? Make you suffer and pay for your crimes before I send you off to the afterlife?”

“You're both sick bastards! How can you kill people and feel nothing!? You're ending another person's life and you act like it's nothing!” The blade pulled away from the back of her neck, and Konishi heard the sound of metal clinking against stone behind her. Crow stepped out in front of her and squatted down to her line of sight with a twisted grin on his face.

“Because if we won't deal with them nobody will,” he hissed. “People have been getting away with crimes for years. People have been getting out of their punishments and we're sick and tired of seeing it. So if they aren't dealt with to our satisfaction, we step in and take matters into our own hands. Killing people who have hurt others is nothing to Joker and I. A mild inconvenience, perhaps, but in the end we're doing this for the greater good. Except you. I'm petty-killing you.” The grin turned feral for a brief moment before Crow's normal plastic face settled into place.

“Because I shittalked your boyfriends or something? What the hell, Akechi!” Crow's foot connected with her stomach and made her wheeze, the pain radiating outwards and making her tear up at the intensity.

“They aren't. My boyfriends,” he spat. “They are my friends. I don't take kindly to people insulting my friends.” She felt him pull her hair up before yanking her head back painfully and running a blade (a sword, where the fuck did Akechi get a goddamn sword from) through the locks and letting her head fall back onto the wooden crate painfully. That would leave a nasty bruise.

“You're sick. You're both sick, you're both disgusting people!” she screamed at him. Crow sighed at her and patted the side of her head. A tiny bit of strength and feeling had returned to her finally; she used it to try and force herself to sit up. A foot settled onto her back to push her down again. “Don't kill me...I'll apologize, I'll drop my blog, please! Just don't kill me, I'm begging you!”

“You should have thought of that before you stole Hanamura-san's promise ring,” Crow whispered. “Seta-senpai was very upset when he found the ring was missing. They were going to get married one day...did you know? Probably not. Seta-senpai didn't want anyone knowing about him and Hanamura-san just yet. He cried while looking over the report of the Ripper's last kill. I saw the tear stains in the paper, saw his writing about the ring and Hanamura-san's headphones. The people you capitalize on are human, Konishi. Or did you forget in your bid to chase the fame to the top?”

Konishi choked on a sob and squeezed her eyes shut. There was no realistic way for her to get out of this. Nobody had lived once Crow or Joker set their sights on him, and if she lived she would reveal his secret and he would go to jail. Or maybe he wouldn't. People wouldn't want to believe that the great Akechi Goro was Crow after all. The threat of exposure was real enough, and she knew she wouldn't live to see the sunrise. The cold press of metal against the back of her neck again was a grim reminder of that.

“You have your phone on you, correct?” Crow asked. Konishi swallowed and let her eyes open.

“Why the hell should I answer you?” she hissed.

“Because that's going to determine if I let you die quick and easy or if I draw this out and slowly saw your head off,” Crow answered calmly. She took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

“Yeah. It's...it's in my purse. I don't want this to hurt, I'll...I'll do whatever you say, just please promise me you'll make it quick,” she whined. The air around them stilled as Crow thought of his answer.

“I suppose I can grant that as your last request. What kind of executioner would I be otherwise?” he teased and reached into her purse to pull her phone out. “What's the password?”

“...Zero-four-one-five,” she said after a few seconds. Crow thumbed in the code and began cycling through her apps.

“How do you post to your blog? From your browser? I'm sure you've posted from your phone before,” he asked.

“No. Top row, second app from the left, second screen to the right,” she answered. She couldn't see Crow behind her, but she figured he probably had a smile on his face right now. A part of her realized that were she standing in Crow's position she would be smiling just as hard probably. “What are you gonna do to my blog?”

“I'll be writing you a farewell post,” he answered, bending down to pick his sword up from the ground and setting it back against her neck again. “I would ask your opinion on the matter, but I don't really think it cares anymore. I have one more question to ask you, however. Hanamura-san's body was found hanging from an antenna atop Junes. How did you get his ring? Did you climb up there to take it from his hand?”

“No. The ring fell in front of me when I was walking. I guess the blood slicked the skin. It's actually how I noticed the body. And before you ask I kept the ring because it was pretty, and the brat wouldn't be needing it anyway since he was dead.” Crow took a deep breath above her and rolled his shoulders to help calm himself down.

“Any last words before your execution, Konishi?”

“...You're fucking sick, Akechi. You won't get away with this forever. Someone will catch you, and then you'll end up in jail like the murderer you are. You rely on your connection to the police to keep you safe but they'll eventually figure it out. I promise you. One day they'll catch you, and Joker, and they'll figure out who Reaper and the Perfectionist are and-”

“Don't talk about Seta-senpai like you know him, you bitch!” Another rough kick connected with her gut and sent her rolling onto her back, a strong wave of nausea hitting her and making her retch. “You don't know anything about him beyond what you've dug up for your stupid blog! You don't know the way his face lights up when a cat comes to rub up against him, or how bright his smile is when someone appreciates his cooking, or how much he cries when someone brings up Hanamura-san around him!”

Even through her grimace Konishi managed to put the pieces together well enough to figure out what had set Crow off, and when she did she began to laugh softly.

“That kid...the Perfectionist? Bullshit,” she wheezed. In retaliation Crow reached down to grab her by what little hair she had left and hauled her back up onto the makeshift chopping block forcefully.

“As I said, Konishi. You don't know Seta-senpai like I do,” he hissed. Before she could make some smart comment or a focused retort the blade sliced through her neck easily, her head rolling back to stand straight up on the back of her corpse with a tight lipped scowl on her face. Crow took a few moments to calm himself down, flicking the blade off to the side to fling the extra blood off, and carefully propped it against the wall near him before grabbing Konishi's head again and setting it on the chopping block.

He walked over to a small bag tucked in the far corner and grabbed a pair of scissors, then slid around behind Konishi's head to even the cut of her hair out. He fished into her purse again and pulled out the little bit of makeup she kept in there to fix her face up.

Before he wrapped her head, he grabbed the playing card from his pocket and grabbed her wrist through her sleeve to dip it in the rapidly-spreading pool of her own blood, then very carefully and very gently used it to draw a heart over the face of the card. Her wrist dropped with a wet plop into the pool of blood, and then Crow set about putting the final touches to his work.

The trip to the police station was quick and easy. Konishi's body wasn't far, and Akechi knew the back streets and alleys he could take to get to his destination without being found. Her head felt heavy in his grip, his stomach twisted up into knots, and he felt a touch sick at the very real possibility of finally being caught. He always felt this way while dropping off a head, even if he knew there was no plausible reason to fear being caught.

The lobby of the police station always stayed quiet this time of night, most everyone either dozing off or working on last minute reports before they left for their homes. He glanced down at Konishi's phone quickly to check the time and make sure that he wouldn't be catching anyone leaving their shift for the night. Feeling confident that he would be safe he quickly slipped out of the shadows and fished the playing card out of his pocket.

First on the steps was the list of her crimes, then her head was carefully placed on top (he made sure to run his fingers through her hair to remove the tangles from it), and then finally he opened her mouth to place the playing card between her teeth. He fished her phone out from the bag he'd dropped it in, hit the post button, then dropped the phone beside her head and darted off down a nearby alleyway to disappear into the night.

Just before he fell asleep that night, after cleaning up and changing clothes, he did two things. The first was to check Konishi's blog and make sure the post had gone through.

**Konishi has been nothing short of a terrible human being since the beginning of her blog. The crimes she has chosen to report on have been dark and disgusting in nature, but not quite as disgusting as the way she has handled them. She has capitalized on other people's misfortunes for the last time; no more will she be able to take advantage of other humans for her own gain. Her punishment was decided by her jury, handed down by her judge, and carried out by her executioner.**

**-Crow**

The second thing, and the honestly more important thing in his opinion, was to send a quick message to Souji.

_Please meet me at my apartment tomorrow after school. I have something I need to give you._

Akechi expected to be able to get home, change clothes, and perhaps even have a bit of a snack before he would be meeting with Souji. Instead, he found Souji waiting in front of his apartment door with an impatient look on his face that made him pause and almost think Souji was angry with him.

“Goro I-”

“Seta-senpai, please. Not right now. There's something I need to give you. Let's head inside so we can speak in private,” he said and waited patiently for Souji to move out of the way. The pair ended up in a staring contest for a few moments before the other finally moved out of the way and let them both into the apartment. Akechi very carefully toed his shoes off in the doorway, then pulled his coat off to hang it up above them. He made his way further into the apartment in the living room now and off to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. “Would you like some tea?”

“...Actually, yes. Tea sounds nice,” Souji sighed. He made his way into Akechi's living room finally and looked around the small apartment. He'd only ever been there once, for a brief moment while Akechi had gone into his room to grab something, and it remained just as barren as it had the last time he had been there. A few generic and cheap paintings decorated the wall, and what Souji knew for certain was a fake plant stood in the corner of the living room. The furniture barely looked used, the kitchen looked spotless and Souji felt certain that if he went into Akechi's bedroom he would find it just as bare as the rest of the place.

It hurt Souji to see Akechi live like this. Everything felt so empty and lonely, nothing like what he expected a seventeen year old boy's apartment to look like. He expected to see clothes thrown everywhere and food left out and maybe even some soda cans left on the table. Instead it looked like the apartment of a cranky old lady who hated seeing even a tiny bit of dust and dirt around her home. In fact it made him a little bit uncomfortable.

“Goro, have you ever considered perhaps...adding some new decorations?” Behind him Akechi huffed and turned his attention to Souji.

“Why should I? I have no reason to change anything. And nobody ever comes here, anyway. It feels pointless,” he explained. “People have bought me things, but I don't usually hold onto them.” Souji heard the rustling of clothing behind him and turned around to find Akechi standing in front of him holding something in his left hand. Souji calmly held his hand out and waited as Akechi set something small and circular in the palm of his hand. He pulled his hand away to allow Souji to see what he'd been handed.

The flash of green had Souji's heart stopping. It took a long, long while before he finally processed what he now held, and when he did he felt tears well up in his eyes. Souji wasn't sure how, but Akechi had managed to find Yosuke's ring. The stone had cracked in one corner, and the inscription on the inside had been worn away a bit from Yosuke's and Souji's shared habit of spinning their rings when nervous, but he could recognize the ring from anywhere.

“...How...where...?”

“Konishi had it,” Akechi whispered softly. “She said the ring fell in front of her as she was walking, and that was how she found Hanamura-san's body. I'm not sure if that's the truth, but at the same time I don't believe she would go through the trouble of climbing up onto the roof of Junes just to steal a ring she didn't know he had.” Souji stared at the ring for a long while before very carefully slipping it onto his ring finger over the tiger's eye ring he wore there. “I didn't feel right giving it back to you until Konishi was dead. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“Don't apologize, Goro. I know why you didn't. The sentiment is nice. And I wish to thank you for dealing with her. I honestly considered going after her myself when I saw her post about Yosuke on the train but...speaking with Adachi after I got there derailed my plans.” Goro made a questioning sound in the back of his throat and tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“You spoke to Adachi before killing him?” he asked. Souji bit at his lower lip and began turning the rings on his fingers absently.

“...I was on the train to Inaba when I saw Konishi's post. I wanted to believe that it was just a nasty, horrible prank but when I got into Inaba, Uncle was waiting for me,” Souji began. “He had Yosuke's headphones in his hands. He said he broke so many rules and would probably get in trouble but he didn't feel right, letting them rot away in evidence. So...he brought them to me. That sealed the deal and told me that no, it wasn't a prank, Yosuke was...Yosuke was really dead, and I broke. I cried so hard and Dojima had to carry me back to our home.” His fists shook with how hard he was clenching them now. “When I got there our friends were waiting for me and trying to comfort me and I was so angry I yelled at them to leave. I didn't _want_ to be comforted, I _wanted_ Yosuke to be the one who greeted me. I wanted to be able to hear him laugh at my stupid jokes and sputter when I flirted with him and I wanted to be able to hold him...”

A hand settled onto his shoulder, startling him out of the memory, and he realized now that he had started crying. Normally he would try to school his features and pretend nothing was wrong but he felt he didn't have to around Akechi anymore. So he let the tears flow, as he always did in private when he remembered Yosuke, and swallowed down the lump in his throat to continue his story.

“The next day. I insisted on going to see where he'd been found. Adachi offered to take me there when he came over. Uncle tried to tell me it wouldn't do me any good, but...I fought. I yelled at him even though I'd never fought with him before and stormed out. Adachi followed me and took me to the street where the antenna could be seen. I stared at that antenna for thirty minutes trying to process the fact that my boyfriend was gone. And that I'd never be able to see him again.”

The kettle whistled on the stove, putting a brief hold on Souji's story as Akechi set about making their tea for them. He remembered just how Souji liked his tea, after all of their late night conversations in Souji's apartment, and carefully set his cup down on the table in front of the corner seat of his couch. He then moved over to the armchair and settled in to wait while Souji worked through his memories again, which he finally managed after a couple of sips of his tea.

“I told Adachi that I wanted to go to the flood plain. It was where Yosuke and I spent a lot of time hanging out together, and I just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. On the way there though...I noticed something in his console. It was Yosuke's headphone jack. It looked like it had been cut off and stuffed in there, and that...that tipped me off. Yosuke took damn good care of his headphones, and he would have never let anything happen to them if he could have helped it. When we got the flood plain I called him out on his shit and he _laughed_. He fucking laughed and said he was surprised I figured it out, that he didn't have to tell me. He said it was a disgrace I was dating 'that Junes brat' and that we should have been together. We could help each other with our work and cover each other's backs. I'm not even entirely certain what the hell I did, but when I came back to Adachi was...pretty fucked up. I forgot I kept a switchblade on me, honestly.” Souji finally stopped to take another sip of his tea. He cleared his throat and reached up to dry his eyes gently.

“You dragged his body behind the tofu shop after that. And then called me, correct?” Akechi asked softly. When Souji nodded he stared down at the tea in his cup and let out a soft sigh. “...I'm sorry, Seta-senpai. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose someone you loved like that. I hope I never have to go through anything like that myself, but given my hesitance for forming connections, I don't suppose I will.” He smiled, but Souji could see right through it.

“What about your friend Ryuji?” he asked, and Akechi tensed visibly. “I've told you before. You need to let yourself open up more. Closing yourself off from other people will do you no good. You need to make more friends.”

“What is the point in making friends, Seta-senpai? Everyone who says they care about me leaves. I'm honestly still waiting for you to pull the rug out from under me as well,” Akechi snapped back in answer. As if it would make him feel better he began glaring at his cup of tea now and tried to will it to explode or disappear or something. Instead Souji's hand settled on top of his to squeeze it gently.

“I promise you, Goro. I'm not going anywhere. You're my friend, and my student, and above even that my brother. I won't leave you. I swear. Please trust me on this.” Akechi let Souji's hand stay on his for a little bit, actually enjoying the warmth on his skin. Eventually he found his voice and moved Souji's hand to take a sip of his tea.

“...I'll try, Seta-senpai,” he whispered. “But I've been shut off for so long. My only real friend has been Ryuji. My...relationship...if you could call it that with Joker is tentative and shaky at best. I'm not sure now if we're friends or fuck buddies or, in a fucked-up sense of the word, coworkers...” Souji leaned away from Akechi and made himself more comfortable on the couch.

“You flirted with him though. The playing card in Konishi's mouth seemed pretty blatant to me,” he admitted. Akechi laughed dryly and tucked his legs underneath him.

“It's a ploy, to remove the media's attention from Ryuyu. We're hoping that the added buzz of the two of us flirting will be enough to keep them busy and eventually forget about him. It was Joker's idea,” he explained. With his focus on his tea he missed the look Souji shot him and the gentle shake of his head in disbelief. Instead of pushing the subject more he looked back down at the rings on his hand with a sad but warm smile on his face.

“I'm sure it'll work. Stranger things have happened, I feel.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel awful, because I thought I was *so fucking clever* with the goddamn Easter egg last chapter, and nobody figured it out. I guess it was too hard, and now I feel horrible. ;-; The answer was Konishi's password on her phone. The code was 0415, which is the date her body was found in Persona 4. At least I'm like, 95% certain it's 04/15. I could be wrong tho, and if I am I'm sorry and that explains why nobody got it. I thought I was clever this time, sticking something in on purpose...  
> Also. This chapter is...kinda dark. It deals with suicidal ideation and I guess assisted suicide technically? Like holy shit. I want you guys to know that when we started this RP originally I hadn't played P4 or P3 and I'M YELLING BECAUSE I HAD THE BAD ENDS RUINED/TEASED FOR ME BY THIS.  
> YOSUKE'S MURDER IS A REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPLICE ENDING FROM GOLDEN  
> AND I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT THIS CHAPTER'S BAD END REFERENCE IS  
> I CRIED WRITING THIS CHAPTER  
> I CRIED WRITING YOSUKE'S MURDER  
> I SHIPPED THEM SO HARD BEFORE I PLAYED THE GAME  
> I want you all to know my girlfriend is a horrible person for doing this to me. <3  
> I also want you guys to know that I almost copypasted half-finished Foolshipping porn here instead of the correct chapter.

When Akira's alarm went off the next morning, he groaned and rubbed at his eyes weakly. He knew he had to go to school today, but dammit he didn't want to. His bed was nice and warm from staying underneath the sheets all night, and the pillow had contoured to his head perfectly...but he couldn't disappoint Sojiro, because if he did his parents would find out and going home would be even more awkward than it already was going to be.

A quick glance at his phone confirmed that no, his parents hadn't tried to call him still, and reminded him that they barely even gave a damn about him now. He did, however, have a new message from Minato.

_Sleeping Beauty  
Coming by Leblanc today. We need to talk._

Anyone else might have looked at the messages and thought that Minato was angry with him, but he knew that wasn't the case. If he was angry then he would have said so. Minato wasn't one to mince words, and now that Akira thought about it he was pretty sure Minato didn't show any emotion besides barely-conscious understanding of his surroundings. Perhaps it was a way to make people more relaxed around him...?

He didn't have time to ponder that right now. He needed to haul ass to school, because he'd slept through both his first alarm to wake him up and his second alarm to tell him he needed to get dressed, and woke up to the third alarm that told him he needed to leave so he wouldn't be late. He gave Sojiro a half-hearted wave as he tore out of the cafe and down the streets to Shujin.

He made it to class with roughly five minutes to spare and calmly slid into his seat with a huff and tried to catch his breath. Ann turned to look at him with a slightly raised eyebrow in question, and Akira managed to find enough breath in him to laugh.

“Woke up late,” he huffed and dropped his bag to the ground beside him, then set his head down on his desk with a groan. Ann reached back to pat his shoulder gently and leaned down on the small sliver of desk not occupied by Akira.

“Hey. I wanted to thank you for trying to help Ryuji,” she whispered. “I didn't even know exactly what was happening to him, I didn't realize that it was this bad. I feel awful...Ryuji's my friend, and-” Akira raised a hand to cut her off and leaned back up to lock eyes with her.

“Don't beat yourself up, Ann. I didn't even completely understand what was going on to him. He never told me. Just...told me I couldn't do anything to help him. I feel horrible that I couldn't do anything sooner to help, but...as messed up as it sounds, I'm glad Kamoshida was taken care of,” he said. He took Ann's hand, still resting on his arm, and squeezed it gently to reassure her. “You did what you could as his friend. You were there when he needed you, and that's exactly what you should have done. You're a good friend.” She sighed softly, dropping her head to the floor to stare even as she squeezed Akira's hand back gingerly.

“...Shiho was one of the ones threatened too,” she said. “I don't know why I'm telling you this, but...I just feel like I can open up to you. I tried asking around, with the track team and some of the other guys using Ryuji, and they kept telling me to back off before something awful happened. Turns out Kamoshida got wind of me prying, and went after Shiho to get me to stop. He threatened to throw her off the rooftop and make it look like an accident if I didn't stop poking my nose into what was happening with Ryuji. I didn't even know, Shiho just kept begging me to leave Ryuji alone and stop trying to help him and...” She pressed the back of her hand to her left eye to stop the flow of tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. Without saying a word Akira leaned forward and pulled her in for an obviously much-needed hug and squeezed her tight. “If I had been the cause of Shiho getting hurt, I don't know what I would have done...”

“It wouldn't have been your fault. Kamoshida was a sick perverted bastard who would have done anything to keep from getting caught. Shiho was unfortunately caught in the cross-fire, but thankfully she managed to get out without a scratch,” he said. The same couldn't be said for Ryuji, or even Yuuki, and he knew it. But they could recover with the right support networks. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out Shiho would have almost assuredly died if Kamoshida had gone through with his threat. 

“Yeah...I guess in a weird, twisted way, I owe Joker a thanks,” she laughed dryly and pulled away from him to wipe at her eyes more. “He saved Ryuji, and Shiho, and so many other kids who might have gone through the same thing when they came to Shujin. I just wonder who else he threatened...I know he confessed to threatening Shiho to keep me away, but there was another name that got blanked out. There's some other poor Shujin kid that he could have hurt...”

“I don't think we'll ever know, and it would probably be for the best,” Akira pointed out as he took his seat again. “The fewer people know who he used to cover up the abuse Ryuyu went through, the better. People might start to blame you, or Shiho, or the other kid for not stepping up and saying anything.” He wished that wasn't the case, but he understood all too well how cruel people their age could be. How cruel kids their age could be.

“Yeah. I guess you're right. I just wish I could support them you know? They're probably going through a lot, now that Kamoshida's gone, and having someone else to sympathize with might help them. Maybe let them talk to Shiho or something? I'm not sure what that would accomplish, but it would be something for them,” she said and rest her head on her hand. After a moment she rest her arms against the top of the desk and tapped his arm. “Hey. Let me take you out as thanks. I'm sure it sounds really weird, but you tried to help. Least I can do.”

“That does actually sound really weird, but I won't turn down free food,” he laughed, which set her to laughing as well. “I've got something after school today I can't skip out on though, but the next time I'm free I'll let you know. Promise.” She smiled at him and patted his hand again before turning back around in her seat.

The school day passed quietly, the only real chatter catching Akira's attention being Crow's kill from the day before. Honestly Konishi had earned her death, for shit talking Crow and Joker and Ryuji and for that horrible treatment of that Hanamura guy's body. He'd never interacted with her himself but after her head had turned up he decided to look her up and found quite a few people complaining about her practices as a supposed 'journalist' and the lack of understanding she seemed to show the people she imposed on.

It wasn't even until he was halfway home that he realized he hadn't seen Ryuji at school all day and felt worry claw up into his gut. On the train back to Leblanc he made sure to send a text asking if he was alright. An answer came just as he stepped off, and he felt the nagging feeling dissipate almost instantly. 

_Yeah. Just spent the day getting everything situated at Yuuki's. Didn't mean to worry you._

_That's fine. Glad to know you're okay._

He put his phone away as he rounded the corner to Leblanc and let out a soft, distraught whine. Minato had just stepped into the cafe, meaning Akira wouldn't even get five minutes to himself to relax and change out of his school uniform more than likely. Whatever Minato had in store would probably take all day and he would have much rather been in more comfortable clothes than this.

The bell chimed overhead as he walked in, immediately locking eyes with Minato and making what he hoped could pass as a pleading face. His eyes flicked over to the stairs leading up to his room, and Minato calmly slid out of his side while turning to Sojiro.

“If you don't mind I'll be taking my coffee upstairs. Nothing against you, but I have private matters to discuss with Akira,” he said. Sojiro grunted and shoved one hand into his pocket.

“You're lucky I don't need your help today, you know. It's supposed to rain here soon, so things'll slow down a lot. Just keep it down,” he said and absently waved his hand at the two of them. They nodded at him before disappearing upstairs together. Without missing a beat Akira moved over to the boxes that held his clothes and pulled out a shirt and sweatpants.

“Before you get into whatever you have planned for me today please for the love of all that is sacred and holy, let me change out of my uniform,” Akira said and tossed the clothes onto the bed. Before Minato could answer his hands were already working to undo the buttons to his jacket. “I don't know what I did, or why you're here, but I would like to be comfortable for this.”

“I think I can at least give you that much,” Minato said and sprawled out on the rickety couch. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check his messages and sighed softly. “Junpei asked me if I wanted to go out to a bar tonight. I'm not sure if I'll take him up on that offer.”

“I'm guessing your answer's gonna be determined by how long you're talking to me?” Akira asked as he dropped his turtleneck onto the bed. Minato hummed an affirmative at him and dropped his phone back down onto his chest just as Akira managed to get his sweatpants on. He opened his mouth to start speaking but something near Akira's feet caught his eye, and instead his attention turned to the crate he could see sticking out from underneath the mattress.

Crates, in fact.

He quickly realized that Akira's 'bed' was nothing more than a shoddy mattress haphazardly thrown on top of some old crates, and he winced at the realization that that absolutely could not be good for the poor kid's back. In fact, now that he looked around, he realized this attic really wasn't the best place for a teenage boy to be sleeping, with or without a proper bed to lay on at night. A part of him wanted to offer to put Akira up in his apartment with him but realized that wouldn't be possible since Akria was stuck here with Sojiro for the entirety of his probation and even suggesting taking Akira in might cause a shitstorm for everyone involved. Smartly he decided to keep the thought to himself and instead focus on Akira and what he had come here for that day.

Which was to absolutely torment the ever loving shit out of him.

“So I heard you're fucking Crow,” he said calmly, finding a small sick sense of joy well up in his chest at the flustered and confused look Akira shot him. The entirety of his face and most of his neck turned beet red in record time as he tried to search through his brain for the right words to give Minato a proper response.

“I...wha...ho...the fuck!? Say it a little louder, I don't think the people in France heard you!” he whispered, casting a quick glance over to the doorway leading downstairs to check for Sojiro to come up and ask questions. When the only sounds he heard were Sojiro cleaning what few dishes likely remained in the sink and chatting with an elderly couple Akira could hear from where he stood he turned back to Minato. “Who told you?”

“A hair stylist told me,” Minato answered and dropped an arm to hang off the side of the couch. His palm lay almost flat against the wood, he realized with a slight bit of amusement. “You told me you were going to talk to him that night. You didn't tell me you were going to fuck him.”

“I didn't! Not...not that night anyway,” Akira admitted, voice tapering off near the end. He pulled his glasses off to drop them on his desk and swatted Minato's feet to get them off the couch before sitting down on the cushion beside him. “I didn't actually start sleeping with him until...the week after, I think. And we've only done it like four times? Maybe? I'd hardly count that as consistent, you know.”

“Doesn't matter. Remember what I told you?” Minato asked, and Akira hung his head to rest against his chest.

“'Keep your work life and your private life separate. Never let anyone find out who you are under any circumstances.' Yeah, I know. But it worked out in the end! I needed his help with Kamoshida, and we're working together to help Ryuyu-”

“'Ryuyu'? Who's that?” Akira leaned against the back of the couch and huffed.

“Remember when I told you I had someone I already needed to protect? That's him. His name's Ryuji, but I call him Ryuyu. He's the one Kamoshida was abusing,” he explained. “And like I was saying. We're working together to get the reporters and shit away from Ryuyu. That's what the flirting is for.” He turned to say something else but the look Minato was giving him, the sheer amount of disbelief in his eyes, made him lose his train of thought.

“Akira. Every shred of common sense I have says that's a lie. And my bullshit meter agrees,” Minato deadpanned. Akira turned to look down at his feet now; Minato being so pushy with him like this was weird, and he hated being put under scrutiny. It never failed that Minato could see right through him. “Now do you want to try and tell me the truth this time?”

“...I may or...may not actually have a thing for Crow. I'm honestly not sure yet. Feelings are confusing, especially after what happened with my parents,” he answered. “I'm trying to figure out if I actually like him or if the sex is just great or what. But really, the flirting is mostly to get the news to focus on us instead of Ryuyu. I mean, he was named in Kamoshida's confession. You know how much they like to jump on people that are named.” The heels of his palms pressed into his eyes until lights burst across his vision, and he groaned in frustration at himself. “I'm such a train wreck aren't I?”

“You're a high school student who kills people that hurt others and have what is supposed to be a healthy sex drive for a boy your age. I'm fairly certain I would be more surprised if you had everything figured out. But I'm still going to point out to you how dangerous it would be if things go south between the two of you. You could easily end up in a full-on feud with him that could get you either caught or killed. As your teacher I'm suggesting you drop the contact with him and keep things strictly professional between you two, if you insist on working with him still.” Akira stared up at his ceiling in thought for a few seconds before turning to Minato again.

“Hey. Senpai. You still haven't told me why you retired,” he pointed out, and he knew he was right. Two months after Minato had begun teaching him Akira had asked him point blank why he stopped killing and the response he got boiled down to “Ask me in a few years and maybe I'll tell you.” It seemed now he wanted an answer, and Minato wondered if maybe it was because of the conversation. Akira had always said his advice sounded like a person who knew the consequences first hand without even understanding how true those assumptions were. After debating with himself, and coming to the conclusion that Akira was merely trying to divert attention from himself, Minato finally shrugged and grabbed his coffee off the floor from where he'd set it before.

“I retired because I killed my lover.” The rim of the coffee cup clicked painfully against his teeth as he tried to take a drink, making him hiss and reach up to push against his lip. “Ouch, dammit...that hurt. I haven't done that in a while. Oops.” Once the pain died down he took a small sip from his coffee. “Oh, this is really good. I may start coming to this place more often, the coffee here is delicious.”

“Senpai...” The concern in Akira's voice made Minato look over to see a very concerned and very upset expression on his face. “...How can you say that so casually? Did you not care about them or something?”

“Oh I did. I loved him with everything I had and then some. But he was tired, and hurting, and he knew who I was. We had a surprisingly calm discussion about the entire thing before I did it,” Minato explained, and the casualness and emotional detachment raised tons of red flags for Akira. “He'd been dealing with things for a long while now, and when he figured out I was Reaper he used it against me. He begged for me to kill him and said that if I didn't he'd go to the cops and then do it himself when I was prison and make it hurt. So I gave him what he wanted.” A heavy silence settled in the attic as Akira tried to find the words he wanted to say right now, and he found it surprisingly hard to really think of anything to add.

“...But your last murder was a girl,” he finally said. “Were they...?”

“No. I made Ryoji's death look like a proper suicide. He was technically my last kill, but at the same time not an official one. I couldn't bring myself to do that to him. I made it quick and painless for him, and then I threw my weapons away and put my life as Reaper behind me.” Minato took another slow sip of his coffee and for a brief moment Akira wondered if he looked on the verge of tears, but the tears never came and were instead replaced by the same odd blankness that he always seemed to wear and that Akira now had a hunch he understood where it came from.

“How can you talk about this and not cry? You said you loved him and you just...talk about killing him like it's the weather or the food or the coffee. Did you even cry when he died?” he asked.

“No, I didn't. It was what he wanted, and I knew he wasn't hurting anymore. There was no point in crying for his death, and there still isn't. He's been gone for years now, so what's the point in shedding tears over a ghost?” He reached up to push his hair out of his face and noticed that Akira now looked absolutely mortified by this conversation. “You seem genuinely surprised by this.”

“Minato are you okay? Like, I'm honestly asking here. Not crying over murdering your boyfriend isn't a good thing. You're supposed to cry. Hell, you're probably supposed to do a lot more than cry afterwards,” Akira pointed out. “Have you...what am I asking, of course you haven't talked to anyone about this.”

“Oh no. I have. I know people you don't. We've spoken in length about what I did and though we don't necessarily agree on the way things turned out or the way I handled the entire situation it was ultimately my decision,” he said. “Now you understand my advice a little bit more, don't you?”

“...Yeah. I do.” Against his better decision Akira leaned over to hug Minato, who very loosely wrapped his arms around Akira in return. He didn't completely understand why, and the confusion only grew when he heard sniffling against his right shoulder.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, and a painful tightness began winding itself up in his chest suddenly. He swallowed in the hopes that it would go away on its own but if anything it made the feeling worse.

“I'm crying for you because you won't.” The tightness refused to leave, and the backs of his eyes began stinging with barely restrained tears that he refused to let fall. “Why won't you cry...?” For what seemed like an eternity the only sounds in the attic were Akira's quiet sniffles and the occasional hitch of breath. When Minato finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper and seemed almost more like he was speaking to himself than actually offering the boy in his arms a proper answer.

“I think perhaps...I was meant to die with him,” he said. “And now...I'm just waiting to join him.”

A single warm tear very slowly rolled down Minato's cheek, down his throat and into his shirt only to be caught by the material just over where his heart was.

When it finally registered that he had begun crying Minato calmly reached up to wipe it away and patted Akira's back gently to help him calm down. Eventually Akira managed to collect himself and pulled away to rub at his eyes and attempt to regain his composure.

“...So you and Crow,” Minato said, giving Akira something else to talk about and focus on instead of the dreary conversation the two of them had just had and the brief moment of vulnerability they'd shown each other. Akira cleared his throat and began twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

“Like I said. I'm not...sure how I feel about him honestly. It's weird. Same thing with Ryuyu. Well...I have a hunch I know how I feel with him. But after what happened with Kamoshida I'm a little scared to think about that too much,” he answered. “I feel the same and yet completely different about the two of them. I've known Crow for years but we've always just kept it as a friendly rivalry until recently, and I've only just met Ryuyu and I've already got this weird feeling in my chest. I'm so fucking confused, Senpai...” The fact that Akira didn't refer to him by name helped set Minato a little bit more at ease. It pushed the uncomfortable feeling between them out and away from them.

“I can't tell you how to handle things. Or what do with your life, and especially not your love life. I'm your teacher, not your conscience. But my honest advice to you is to tread carefully with this. Crow knows who you are, and if he decides to change his mind he could kill you. This Ryuji, you haven't known him very long. Jumping into things with him could prove dangerous as well, especially so soon after he's been freed from his abuser.” Akira sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch to stare up at the ceiling yet again. Minato figured it was a way to help him think.

“It's worse than that. Ryuyu's a childhood friend of Crow's,” he explained, and Minato's eyes widened. “If I date Crow, we have to keep it secret from Ryuyu to make sure he doesn't get suspicious. If I date Ryuyu, there's a good chance Crow will get jealous and get rid of me. I mean, the guy called out Ryuyu's name the first night we had sex, for fuck's sake. Pretty obvious he's in love. No matter what I pick or what I do, I feel like I'm gonna be screwed over.” He sighed again and seemingly finally reached his conclusion. “So I guess I'll just have to sit on these feelings and forget about them. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to pretend I didn't like someone.”

“Your friend back home,” Minato said, and Akira nodded. “I'm...still sorry about everything. I wish I could take you in, I really do.” In response Akira laughed and lightly tapped his arm with a loose fist.

“It's fine. I'll survive. I've been doing it long enough. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve,” he said, and suddenly Minato came a shocking understanding about himself that he could honestly admit he was embarrassed it took him so long to realize.

Just as Akira had been doing for so long, Minato had only been surviving. Never really living after losing Ryoji, after taking Ryoji's life with his own hands. He had gone so long without truly living as he did before that if he tried now he felt it would be a moot point, but suddenly he felt warmth against the back of his ribs and Minato pretended that it was Ryoji's hand settling on his chest to try and encourage him to pull out of the rut he's survived in for years. He'd been given a taste of what it was like to live teaching Akira and watching him blossom from an awkward, scared teenager to a ruthless killing machine that still blushed and sputtered at the mention or even discussion of feelings for another person, and hearing those words made him realize that he wanted more.

It would be a long and ruthless climb for him, but he felt he could eventually find his way out of the hole he'd buried himself in beside the memory of a man who made him laugh with simple flirting and hid the color in his cheeks behind a bright yellow scarf. A man whose last words to Minato hadn't been “I love you” or “I'll miss you” but a simple and heartfelt “Thank you” before the light faded from his eyes and the steady cadence of his heart fell silent.

Why these memories were suddenly resurfacing he wasn't sure; he couldn't blame the sudden resurgence on Akira even if he wanted to, as just yesterday he had caught himself running a thumb over Ryoji's scarf and wondering if he would get too many strange looks from the people around him if he decided to wear it out and about. Eventually he had decided against it and slipped the soft piece of cloth back into the box underneath his bed on the side he only ever touched when he had company at night and refused to let another person sleep on. Meaningful relationships were off the table for the rest of his life but the occasional guest with no strings attached sat perfectly fine with him.

Minato's phone chimed in his pocket, pulling him out of his head and back into the attic of Leblanc. When he glanced at the screen on his phone he let out a small chuckle.

“Junpei is insistent I go out with him tonight,” he said. He couldn't fault his friend for his insistence on the matter either. Junpei understood all too well the pain of losing another person so near and dear, meaning he spent every chance he had on keeping an eye on Minato to make sure he was actually as alright as he pretended to be. This usually involved dragging him out to bars or clubs until the asscrack of dawn just to make sure he didn't get too lost in his own thoughts, even if sometimes Junpei's strayed down that dark path when he had a little too much whiskey in his system.

“Guess that means you won't be sticking around too much longer,” Akira said and stood up from the couch. “You'll have to come back when you're free and let Sojiro make you some curry. I-” His own phone chimed in his pocket, and when he read the message he had received he shoved his face into his hand and grumbled something about “tight-fitting shirts” before almost violently typing out a reply to whoever had obviously sent him a picture. When his eyes met Minato's he flushed a little bit and twisted the tip of his big toe into the wood. “Uhhhh...Ryuyu sent me a picture of him and our friend Yuuki together. The shirt he's wearing is...really flattering, you could say.”

“I'm a bit out of the news loop honestly, so do you might if I see?” Minato asked. Akira very nearly protested but decided against it and figured that if he'd already talked about his very obvious crushes he may as well brag about one of them. He pulled the picture back up in the thread and held his phone out for Minato to take. “I'm guessing he's the blond one?”

“Yeah. That's him,” Akira laughed. The picture had been a selfie Yuuki had taken, the end of a sucker sticking halfway out of his mouth and the camera at an awkward angle that only caught the top of his head with Ryuji sitting on his bed in the background flailing his arms around with a manga clutched in one hand. If Akira had been asked he would have suggested that the way Ryuji looked in that shirt of his was downright criminal.

“Hmm. He's cute. I can see why you like him,” Minato offered as he held the phone back out. “Who's the third boy though?”

“Huh?” Akira took a better look at the picture now and realized that Yusuke had been caught in the shot as well, crouched over and against the far back wall. Akira wouldn't have even realized he was there if Minato hadn't said anything about him. “Oh. That's Yuuki's boyfriend, Yusuke. Yuuki was one of the kids Kamoshida was threatening and the one who took the picture. He's the one who was being blackmailed.”

“Oh...that's a shame. He seems happy enough though. Did anything serious happen to him?” Akira shrugged in answer and dropped his phone on the desk at the foot of his bed.

“Kamoshida blackmailed him pretty hard, and used him to clean the mess up when he fucked Ryuyu. Going through the shit he did...I'm impressed he came out of it remotely okay.”

“Some people are stronger than the ones around them give credit for,” Minato said. He remembered how concerned his friends he had made in high school had been after Ryoji's death and felt himself smile bitterly. Only Junpei and Ken had remained in constant contact with him, as everyone else had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth and only occasionally sent him a happy birthday or holiday text when they remembered.

Mitsuru tried, as hectic as her schedule was taking over for her father so soon after graduation, and Minato understood her difficulty in keeping in touch with him. The other's messages asking how okay he was and their drop in messages after every reply of “I'm fine” had stung at the time but now remained a sad memory in his past that didn't need to be brought up again.

“I should probably get going now, before Junpei flips his lid on me. He doesn't like it when I turn him down for things like this,” Minato said and stood from his seat. “I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable today, by the way.”

“No, don't. I'm the one that asked. You shouldn't have to apologize for that. I just...wasn't expecting that for an answer, honestly. Sort of...threw me for a loop,” Akira admitted. “But I am glad you shared it with me. Now I feel a little bit better since you told me that.” He bumped their shoulders together gently with a warm smile on his face. “Next time though, can you give me a bit of a head's up before you drop by? Also my Saturdays are busy now, I've got a study group going with Ryuyu and Crow.”

“Kind of the point of a 'surprise visit' you know. I only let you know ahead of time so you could make sure you'd actually be here. Also will you actually be studying or do you have other insidious plans for that?” he teased, smiling when Akira turned red yet again.

“We'll actually be studying while Ryuyu's there,” he pointed out, and that gave Minato the answer he needed. “Don't tease me about my sex life just because yours is as dead as a door nail.”

“Oh no, my sex life isn't dead by any stretch of the imagination,” Minato answered and turned around to leave. “It was nice seeing you again Akira. Maybe next time we can talk about things that aren't depressing or uncomfortable for you.”

“Wait, who the hell are you sleeping with!? Senpai, don't just say that and then leave me hanging! It's your friend Junpei, isn't it!?” he asked, following after Minato with a strange sense of curiosity fueling him. There was no conceivable reason for him to be in Minato's private life like this other than an attempt at getting back for the embarrassment and prying he had suffered.

“No, it isn't Junpei. He's straight and not my type,” Minato chuckled as he began heading downstairs. “Maybe one day you'll meet him. The way things are going I'd almost put money on it.”

“The hell does that mean? Don't get all cryptic on me again, dammit!” Akira huffed and stopped at the top of the stairs. He hoped that nobody downstairs had heard their conversation up until that point but figured that if nobody had said anything to him about it then they were safe. This, however, would almost assuredly draw patron's attentions if he continued his line of questioning at this volume. When Minato turned to wave goodbye to him he had a weird little smile at the corner of his lips and a light in his eyes that meant he was up to no good. A rare sight that Akira had only ever seen twice in his time as Reaper's student, and both times had been when he'd only just started out as Joker.

“Talk to you later, Akira~” Without giving him a chance to prod further he turned and stepped out of Leblanc and began making his way down the street, phone in hand, sending a quick reply to Junpei before opening up a different thread of messages.

_Yep. It's happening. Not just blowing hot air._

He pulled his headphones up onto his ears before turning his music on and putting his phone away in his pocket, a small spring in his step brought on by teasing Akira so much in just a few short hours.

 

Ryuji groaned quietly to himself and slowly sat up from the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and licking chapped lips with a dry tongue. A few years had passed since the last time he had slept on a couch, and sleeping on couches almost always kept his mouth hanging open all night and dried his throat and mouth out. A lamp had been left on in the corner of the living room and provided enough light for him to see as he made his way off into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water.

It felt weird to not be sleeping in his bed back in his apartment. Being here in Yuuki's apartment on a school night and understanding that he now lived there felt wrong, in a way. Not just because he basically stuck himself here without even actually meeting Yuuki's parents or discussing this with them, but also because he felt he shouldn't be here. Yuuki had ended up under Kamoshida's thumb because of him, and the guilt in his stomach made him staying here a physically painful experience. He'd only been living here for about a day and a half, but it didn't stop him from feeling uncomfortable as hell.

Navigating his way off into the kitchen was easy enough, but it took him a few seconds to find himself a glass in the cabinets.

“Ha-aaaaahhhhh...” Ryuji frowned a bit and turned to look down the hallway towards Yuuki's room. He'd gone to bed early, saying he felt tired and a little bit drained after actually getting all of his stuff put away, so he wasn't sure what Yuuki had decided to do to entertain himself while he was asleep. When he didn't hear anything else from down the hallway he leaned back against the sink and began taking slow slips from his glass.

A part of him felt like he was being a bother to Yuuki by living here with him. Like he was intruding on the boy that should hate him for putting him in the position of being blackmailed by a teacher into helping keep him from getting caught. Instead of avoiding him or pretending he didn't exist like Ryuji thought he would Yuuki had welcomed Ryuji into his home with a frightening amount of insistence. Like he wanted to stay friends with someone who was broken and damaged like him.

He wanted to believe the friends he had made actually cared about him but he could stil hear Kamoshida's voice in the back of his mind telling him he was just a fucking burden and a waste of space. That he shouldn't rely on anybody else because nobody else really wanted to help him like they said they did. People only offered a hand to give themselves a pat on the back and help make them feel better about themselves. If they really cared about him then-

“Mmmmnnn!” Ryuji twitched, squeezing the glass in his hand tightly, and his attention turned back down towards Yuuki's room. A part of him wanted to go find out what Yuuki was doing but something in the pit of his stomach told him it was best to ignore the noises and pretend he couldn't hear them. It would be better for him in the long run and it felt like he was invading Yuuki's privacy. 

His water glass was half empty by this point and he was just about ready to pour it out in the sink and go back to bed when he picked up the very distinct sound of skin meeting skin. Another glance showed that Yuuki's door was actually cracked, allowing him to hear what was going on much more clearly than he wanted to.

Suddenly he found himself back in Kamoshida's office bent over the desk and pain blossoming up his back. The sharp stinging in his hips told him that blunted nails were digging into his skin and leaving deep dark angry marks behind. He could hear Kamoshida grunting behind him and felt sharp stinging in his feet and-

“..ji.”

A voice, somewhere in the back of his mind, called out to him. The voice was distorted and sounded worried and Ryuji couldn't help but laugh dryly. It wasn't Kamoshida, as he never used Ryuji's name during sex unless it was to call him Sakamoto and order him around. He almost thought it sounded like Yuuki, but Yuuki wouldn't be called in until Kamoshida had finished with him and needed Ryuji to get back to class.

“...yuji.”

“F..fuck...hurts...” The pressure on his back increased as Kamoshida leaned over him and began whispering reminders in his ear about how fucked up he was, how worthless he actually was and how much the people around him who pretended to care for him hated. He hissed about how dirty Ryuji was and how nobody would ever love him if they found out about him being used and abused and turned into little more than a warm fleshlight with a voice.

“Ryuji.”

His eyes snapped open to see Yuuki standing in front of him with a very worried, very pained expression on his face. The kitchen light had been turned on and everything around him carried a sharp and painful clarity to it. Yuuki's pajamas looked like they had been thrown on in a haste; his shirt was on backwards and his sleep pants were both inside out and backwards. His skin skill looked a little bit flushed and his hair stuck up in whatever direction it damn well pleased.

“Wha...?” Ryuji's head slowly shook from side to side and he moved to take a step away from Yuuki to put his back against something a little bit more solid, but a long and bony hand settling onto his back kept him in place.

“Please don't move. There's broken glass near your feet, and you've already stepped on a few pieces. Let us make a path for you first.” Yusuke. That was Yusuke talking now. Ryuji's head turned to see him standing just at the edge of the small shards surrounding him. Somehow his brain worked well enough to piece together that he had dropped the glass he had been drinking from before, which shattered on the hard floor.

He blanked out again, a dark and dirty voice calling him a waste of skin and telling him that he had caused even more problems by dropping the glass, and only came back to himself when he felt a new one pressed into his hand and found himself very gently settled down onto the couch he had been sleeping on before. Yusuke had perched at the edge of the table with his back turned to Ryuji, and Yuuki was kneeling in front of him with a hand on his knee.

“...Yuuki...” Ryuji blinked in an attempt to get the fuzz out of his brain and bring himself completely back to the present. It felt like a part of him was still stuck in the past and couldn't find its way back with the rest of him. “I'm sorry for...for the glass...”

“Don't worry about that, Ryuji. I'm just glad you weren't hurt too bad,” Yuuki breathed. He carefully pulled Ryuji's feet up to look them over and very visibly flinched away from them at the sight. “There's some glass still in your feet...Yusuke, I think there's some tweezers in the bathroom. Would you go get them for me? And bring back some bandages as well?” Without a word Yusuke moved to his feet and headed down a different hallway to collect the tweezers in question. When he returned with them he took his place on the floor again and sat with a painful tension in his entire body.

“...Yusuke. You should...relax...” Ryuji cleared his throat and hissed painfully when Yuuki pulled the first shard of glass out. He received a quick and quiet apology as he continued to work, only setting the tweezers down when he felt certain he had gotten everything out of Ryuji's foot. Next he worked on cleaning the small cuts and wrapping them up, and when he had finished those he very carefully set Ryuji's feet back down and looked up at the blond with a questioning look.

“...What happened?” he asked quietly. Ryuji hesitated, trying to find his voice in the murk of his brain, and only spoke when he felt he could really honestly provide an answer.

“Heard you. With Yusuke. Sounds...remembered? Kamoshida there, seemed...real.” He understood that his words likely made no sense to either of the other boys and scrambled to try and piece together a cognitive sentence.

“It sounds like Ryuji heard our activities and suffered a flashback,” Yusuke said. Something sounded off in Yusuke's voice that Ryuji couldn't quite piece together in his current state and it set a fresh ball of anxiety winding itself together in his stomach. Yuuki's quiet but sharp intake of breath and the pain that flashed across his face didn't help him unfortunately.

“Oh. Oh geeze, I'm so sorry Ryuji. I thought you were asleep and I thought we were being quiet and Yusuke doesn't get to stay the night very often and...I'm so sorry.” The hand on Ryuji's leg pulled away and he moved to instinctively follow it; the touch grounded him helped pull him back to where he was supposed to be. Yuuki however seemed afraid to touch him and even went so far as to back away from him a little bit more to give him space. “Shit. I should have thought about that, I should have been more considerate...I knew what happened and I thought everything would be okay and...and...”

Tears sprang forward and began rolling down his cheeks, and soon Yuuki had curled in on himself and was sobbing quietly. His forehead was pressed flush against his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs in an attempt to hold himself. The glass in Ryuji's hand felt uncomfortably cold against his skin and prompted him to very gently set it down the table in front of him, which made Yuuki flinch back away from him. Yusuke stayed where he sat, back to both of them but a very obvious slump in his shoulders now.

“It isn't your fault, Yuuki. I'm the one who initiated things, even after being informed of what exactly Ryuji had suffered. I should have been considerate of his situation as well,” he said and now, with the world around him coming back to where it should be, Ryuji could piece together that strange emotion in Yusuke's voice: guilt. He felt guilty for having sex with his boyfriend, in his boyfriend's bedroom, where they had the most privacy and believed they wouldn't be heard. They had no reason to think about him or how he would react.

“...'m sorry.” Ryuji swallowed, finally finding his voice as he needed, and looked over to Yuuki. “I didn't mean to...ruin things for you two. Your door, it...was cracked. So I heard you. I didn't...I didn't mean to freak out. I'm sorry...'m not upset. I promise.” His hand shook as he reached out to set it on Yuuki's shoulder, flinching away from Yuuki just as hard as Yuuki flinched away from him. Yuuki sniffled, wiped violently at his eyes, and let out a slow, shaky breath to find a piece of calm so he could speak.

“You're not...?” He looked uncertain as his gaze settled on Ryuji's face, a little fearful even, and Ryuji understood the guilt that Yusuke felt now. “But I...”

“You thought I was asleep. You weren't that loud. I barely heard you.” Ryuji found it much easier to speak now and felt the shaking across his body dying down. “Please don't feel bad Yuuki. 'm fine. Well...'s fine as I can be, after Kamoshida put me through that bullshit. I don't hate you, and I don't blame you. I don't wanna get between you 'nd Yusuke, either. So uhhhh...maybe warn me before things start headin' that way with you two?” Another sniffle, another choked sob as Yuuki wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I don't want to forget though...maybe Yusuke should avoid visiting for a bit,” Yuuki suggested. A voice sounded in the back of Ryuji's head: _“You're being a burden again, Sakamoto. Can't even let two lovers have privacy without making it about yourself.”_ A sickly feeling pooled in his gut, but something in him pushed that feeling away.

“No. 's fine. I promise. I don't wanna be a problem fer you 'nd Yusuke. Just lemme know so I can put some headphones on or somethin'. I mean it.” Yusuke turned his head slightly to make eye contact with Ryuji.

“Are you absolutely sure, Ryuji...?”

“Dude, don't make me keep repeatin' myself! I'm fine, just warn me!” he laughed, and it proved contagious as Yuuki began to bubble up in small little giggles. The tension in the atmosphere dissipated considerably now as the trio fell into warm laughter that echoed in the living room and brought a bit of life and mirth back after the bleak events of the night. Once it died down and the tears had finally dried away Yuuki slowly stood up and tugged at the hem of his shirt.

“Well...since I'm tired, and the mood was killed, I think it would be a good idea for all three of us to get some sleep. We have school in the morning still, and I for one don't want to fall asleep during class and risk getting a piece of chalk thrown at me,” he said. The look Yusuke gave him was enough to make Ryuji start to chuckle again.

“Your teachers throw chalk at you? That seems horrible!” Yuuki laughed at that and helped pull Yusuke up to his feet.

“Not really. Only one teacher does it, and he only ever does it if you fall asleep or zone out in class. Long as you pay attention you're good. The other teachers just call on you and hope you get the answer wrong to embarrass you,” he explained. “Ryuji, are you gonna be okay out here? Do you need me to get you anything to help...?”

“Nah. I'm fine. Got a class of water and everythin', so I won't need to get off the couch again for the rest of the night. Night guys.”

“Goodnight, Ryuji.”

“Night.” Yuuki took Yusuke's hand now to pull him back off to the bedroom, leaving Ryuji alone in the living room with the soft light of the lamp as his only real company. It was enough for him to finally feel at least a little bit more at ease, and coupled with the emotional strain of having a flashback (he wondered if those would be a common occurrence for him in the next few months, and if so he decided he would look into getting help somehow) and the conversation with Yuuki he felt absolutely spent. His eyelids drooped and his eyes burned from the effort of staying awake for so long, so he very carefully began crawling underneath his blankets to get back to sleep.

“Hey...Ryuji?” His lids stuck together as he attempted to pry them open to look at Yuuki, who had poked his head back into the living room now. Slowly Ryuji hauled himself back up into a sitting position and scratched at his hair.

“Yeah?”

“...I'm still sorry. I know you say it's not a big deal, but I need to apologize. It'll make me feel better,” he said. “It'll probably get annoying, but it's...a coping thing, I think. I still feel really guilty for not saying anything about Kamoshida and apologizing to you...makes me feel better. If that makes any sense. Probably not.”

“Nah man, 's cool. I actually do kind of understand, honestly. If it helps you then it's fine. Listenin' to you apologize over and over again is better th'n watching you avoid me because of it. So if sayin' two little words makes you feel better then say 'em 'till you're blue in the face. Just...don't stop bein' my friend. I could use some honestly.” The smile Yuuki gave him warmed his heart up and eased a bit of the fear he felt still running through his veins.

“We went through too much together. I don't think we'll ever not be friends, Ryuji. So don't worry about that,” he said and patted the wall where his hand rest gently. “I'll talk to you in the morning. I always get up early when Yusuke stays the night to make breakfast for us. I'll make sure to have enough for you too.”

“Thanks Yuuki.” Ryuji watched through bleary eyes as Yuuki slipped off back into his room for the night. The warmth from Yuuki's smile and the firm reassurance that this wouldn't put a strain on their tentative friendship spread into the rest of his body and helped ease him back off into a surprisingly restful and much needed sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so yeah, this is probably the last slow chapter for a good bit maybe possibly? Not too sure, haven't started on the new one. Also want you guys to know I cried during the home stretch of this chapter too. I'm such a fucking emotional wreck.

The words on the page in front of Akira blurred together into barely legible lines and figures that he knew were supposed to represent sounds and words but couldn't for the life of him figure out what the hell they were supposed to mean. Exams started on Monday and he felt confident enough that he could pass them without studying, but he wanted to pass them with flying colors if he could help it. Anything he could do to put himself back into his parent's good graces was going to be an automatic necessity in his book. He wasn't sure Sojiro would be okay with him sticking around an extra year if his parents decided they didn't want to deal with him, and he'd rather avoid trying to find someone who would be willing to take him in.

He glanced over to his phone sitting beside his book when it buzzed and the screen lit up at him. A message from Ryuji saying he and Akechi were on their way and would be there in about five minutes blinked across the screen. The company would prove useful he would admit, but the coffee he was brewing him would be even better for him. For whatever reason he had struggled to fall asleep the night before and must have had some sort of nightmare that he couldn't quite piece together, as he woke up with a shout and skin drenched in sweat. It had been a long time since he'd actually had a nightmare, and even longer since he'd had one he couldn't remember. It left a nasty taste in his mouth and nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He slid out of the booth and went around back behind the counter to finish making his cup of coffee, absently noticing Sojiro shooting him some sort of dirty look he couldn't be bothered to care about, and yawned so hard his jaw popped a bit and he groaned at the feeling. The heel of his palm dug into his eye until he saw lights and colors and the vision in it blurred slightly as he tried to completely wake himself up. Even being at school all day didn't help keep him from passing out, and he'd almost fallen asleep during class three times that morning.

“Did you stay up all night playing on your phone or something?” Sojiro huffed at him. Akira blinked slowly and turned to look at Sojiro as he kicked his brain into gear to produce an answer.

“No...couldn't sleep. Nightmare woke me up. Couldn't get back to sleep,” he answered. Short, sweet, simple, and perhaps just a touch snappy. He didn't mean to sound angry or forceful but he was just so goddamn tired and wanted to sleep. But he'd made plans with Ryuji and Akechi earlier in the week and refused to back out of them so late. Maybe a bit of his pride, maybe a bit of his feelings, but he wouldn't feel right leaving them hanging.

How deep his thoughts went actually kept him from noticing Sojiro's worried face and kept him from throwing out an 'I'm fine' quick enough to avoid a reaction.

“You wanna talk about it?” Akira stared at Sojiro, partly in shock and partly in a lack of understanding from his sleep-addled brain. Had...Sojiro actually asked about his nightmare instead of just telling him to suck it up or pretending to actually care but not really listening? When he finally understood that yes, he had actually been asked if he wanted to talk to someone about it, he shrugged calmly in answer and took a long draught from his coffee.

“Don't remember it honestly. Just know it woke me up and kept me awake for a long while,” he admitted and moved to take his seat back. As he moved past Sojiro he found his cup of coffee gracefully slid out of his hands and pulled up above his head where he couldn't quite reach it, and he shot a nasty look at his guardian. “I really don't remember it.”

“If you didn't sleep last night then the last thing you need is coffee to keep you awake. What you need is to get to bed early,” Sojiro argued. Akira scowled at him, a look Sojiro realized he didn't like, and tried to reach up for his coffee again.

“I can't sleep, I've got exams starting Monday and I've to a study group in five minutes. Probably not even that long now. Just gimme my coffee back,” he growled. When Sojiro glared back at Akira he didn't back down, and in fact seemed to take on a much more stern stance. Something in Sojiro snapped, and without a word he brought Akira's coffee back down to and let him take it back.

“Just don't push yourself too hard kid,” he said quietly and turned away from him. Akira couldn't be sure but he thought he may have seen something in Sojiro's face and heard something in his voice that sounded...off. Strange, even. Instead of looking closer he took another drink of coffee and settled back down with his books just as the bell above the door jingled.

“...and so the guy ended up walkin' back into the net and tore the whole thing down! The teachers were pissed as hell and ended up makin' the guy's parents pay for a new one. He put a few holes on it 'nd ripped the bottom of it in half from flailin' around so much.”

“Wow, the material must have been flimsy and worn if one person was enough to tear the entire thing down.” Akira waved half-heartedly at Akechi and Ryuji as they walked over to sit across from and glanced down to realize his cup was now almost empty. And he couldn't say with any certainty just how long the other two would be here for.

“Yeah, it was. Net was old as dirt. Pretty sure the school was just lookin' for any excuse at all to replace the damn thing,” Ryuji hummed and fished a few books out of his bag. “Just glad it wasn't me. Can't afford to buy anythin'.”

“I've offered to give you pocket change Ryuyu, I don't mind,” Akechi chuckled and did the same. “Why do you insist on turning me down?” Ryuji pouted at him and flipped one of his books open.

“Told you. Don't wanna be a bother.” Akira snorted and leaned back against the plush cushions behind him.

“Least you have an option for money. I've been considering getting a part-time job, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough time for that,” he said. “Might make my parents happy if I do, though.”

“How have you been feeding yourself since you moved here then?” Akechi asked with very real concern in his voice. Akira shrugged and finally finished his coffee off before going to make himself another cup against his better judgment.

“Parents sent me with a bit of pocket change. Been living off instant noodles mostly. Sojiro started cooking for me recently though, so that's nice,” he said. “He's also been teaching me how to make coffee, since he's been getting me to help around here a little bit. Honestly I think he should start paying me.” It was meant as a dig at Sojiro and a playful jab, and he hoped his voice conveyed that easily enough, but he still found himself turning to look at Sojiro with a slightly fearful look. He almost expected to get yelled at for making the joke, but instead found Sojiro looking at him with a contemplative expression and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Hmm. I might consider it, actually. You're a big help around the place when you work, and it doesn't really seem fair to risk you burning yourself again and again just to not pay you. Won't be much, but I might throw enough your way to make sure you can at least hang out with your friends. Since it seems like you've made a few already.” Akira laughed awkwardly and started brewing his cup of coffee finally.

“I was just joking, Sakura-san.”

“Call me Boss.” Akira cleared his throat and flicked his eyes over uncomfortably at Sojiro before looking back over to his friends, who were smiling a little bit at him. It felt strange to find someone who actually kind of seemed to care about him, even if it was obvious that Sojiro still kept him at arm's length.

“Alright...Boss.” It sounded so strange to be so relaxed around an adult, especially one who had taken him in under strenuous circumstances and looked less than enthused the first day he'd gotten there, but at the same time having Sojiro at least a little caring towards him made him feel a little warm inside. “Oh...dammit, I should have asked if I could even have some of the coffee. I'm sorry I-”

“Don't worry about it. Long as you and your friends are actually studying, coffee's on the house. Just don't get into the more expensive stuff,” Sojiro huffed and waved at him. “If I catch you slacking off though you'll be working for free until it's all payed off.”

“Yes sir.” Akira set the coffee to brew and leaned across the counter to speak with Akechi now. “How long will you two be staying?”

“As long as we're allowed to. Ryuyu needs this for his grades, and I want to make sure he's confident enough in his school work. I don't want him failing his exams,” he answered. Ryuji groaned and rubbed at the back of his head now, trying to avoid making eye contact with either of the other two.

“C'mon Go-chan, you ain't gotta worry that much. I always pass my exams!” he argued, and truthfully he had. It was always by the skin of his teeth, but he'd never failed an exam before. “You're worryin' too much. 'm smarter than you give me credit for.” Akira chuckled softly to himself and let his chin rest in his palm.

“Well still. Better safe than sorry, you know? Besides, I need the company anyway.” He scratched at the back of his neck and fought down yet another loud yawn. The first cup of coffee had done its job, but not quite enough to completely wake him up like he so desperately needed. He wasn't looking forward to trying to study on almost no sleep honestly, but he hoped the caffeine would do something to help him.

“Hey Aki-chan...you okay? You look kinda...out of it right now,” Ryuji said. Akira waved him off and stretched out across the counter instead of immediately answering him, and instead of giving an actual answer even after that he decided honesty wouldn't be the best policy right now.

“Just couldn't sleep last night is all. Don't worry about it, I'm fine. It's what the coffee's for,” he chuckled. “I'll be fine to study with you guys, I promise.” Ryuji seemed to have been convinced, but Akechi looked at Akira like he wasn't quite sure Akira was telling the truth. Admittedly Akira was telling the truth in that he couldn't sleep but conveniently leaving out the cause of his insomnia. They didn't need to know he'd had a nightmare he couldn't remember last night.

“We should probably leave early tonight then so you can get some sleep,” Akechi said. He almost missed the pleading in Akira's eyes and immediately decided he would make it a point to ask about it later. For now they needed to worry about studying, and Akira needed to worry about not ruining his coffee.

“Nah, don't worry about it. You want some coffee, Akechi?”

“Actually coffee sounds nice, but I'll be paying for mine as I'd like something a touch more on the expensive side. Nothing against you, Kurusu, but I have specific tastes,” he said. Both Ryuji and Akira snorted at him, but the blond was the one to offer a teasing remark.

“You mean snooty, right?” Akechi looked a bit offended at that, the look of hurt on his face almost genuine were it not for the comical spread of his mouth and the flutter of his eyelashes.

“I don't believe you, Ryuyu. I'm hurt by that,” he scoffed. “My tastes are not 'snooty.' They're refined.” Akira chuckled at that and straightened up off the counter now.

“Don't be so full of yourself Akechi. Your arrogance is showing.” Akechi pouted at him now and it was arguably the cutest thing Akira had ever actually seen, second only to Ryuji's award-winning sunshine smile as he called it. “It's a strangely fitting look however, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.”

“Shut up I didn't ask for your opinion!” Akechi laughed.

“Could have fooled me you know,” Akira butted in, and watched Akechi turn to look at him with wide eyes and a death glare, lips pursed tight and nose flaring out a bit. He almost looked actually angry but Akira knew better by this point. It was nice to see him actually act so normal for once instead of the rigid plastic doll he was around others. For at least a little bit Akira could see a normal seventeen year old boy instead of a detective prince who had an image to maintain.

“Hey, aren't you kids supposed to be studying?” Sojiro asked. Akira cleared his throat and finally set about making his cup of coffee. “And don't worry about your cup over there. I'll make it myself. Usual, right?”

“Yes please,” Akechi answered and reached into his coat to fish his wallet out. Sojiro waved him off as well and watched Akira go back over to slide down into the booth.

“I'll cover it. Don't worry. Just make sure you kids actually study. I meant my warning,” he said. Akechi's face fell at that, but before he could offer up an apology and insist on paying for the coffee Ryuji groaned and thunked his head down onto the table. The entire time Akira and Akechi had been teasing each other he had actually been attempting to get some honest studying done, but apparently he had hit a roadblock and seemed to be giving up.

“Dude, why's math so fu-errr...effin' hard,” he whined. “Why do I need to know all these stupid formulas and crap anyway? 'm not gonna do anything with these...” Akechi very gently patted his shoulder reassuringly and pulled Ryuji's books closer to get a look at them.

“I didn't know you went to Shujin by the way,” Sojiro said to Akechi, who immediately turned to him and shook his head.

“I actually don't. I'm a third year at Kosei. I'm only here because Ryuyu asked me to join them,” he explained. Akira feigned an offended expression as best he could and even scoffed like he was actually upset, his hand settling on his chest in an exaggerated display of agitation.

“I'm the one that suggested we start meeting up study sessions, Akechi. How dare you erase my involvement in this!” he said. Akechi's eyes rolled at that and instead of offering a proper response he continued to look through Ryuji's book at whatever seemed to have stumped him. “I'm talking to you, you pompous ass.”

“And I'm trying to help my best friend understand whatever it is that seems to be causing him problems, you snarky brat,” he fired back. “Ryuyu which one of these are you having trouble understanding?”

“Third one from the bottom,” the blond huffed in answer as he detached his forehead from the table. “'m not sure why either. It looks so effin' easy but it just doesn't make sense to me.” Akechi turned the book in front of him just a little bit and scooted closer to Ryuji so he could explain how the complicated formula worked, but Akira couldn't focus enough to follow along. He was pretty certain he knew what Ryuji was having difficulties with anyway and didn't think he needed to spend time on something that he himself understood fairly well.

Instead he decided to focus on the night before, or more accurately that morning, to try and figure out what the hell his nightmare had been. Whatever it was had obviously affected him enough to wake him up and then keep him awake even if he couldn't remember what it had been about, and that worried him. His last nightmare had been the night of his first kill, when he'd been sleeping on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar place with the uncertainty of his safety weighing heavy on his mind. He wondered if perhaps he was beginning to regret picking up his work as Joker, and if perhaps all the blood on his hands was beginning to drown him.

He realized soon enough that that couldn't be farther from the truth though. He still felt pride in his work above all else and satisfaction shortly thereafter. He was doing good in the world and taking disgusting people off the streets. He didn't need to feel guilty for any of his murders, even his first. Subconsciously he knew this, and felt certain in his duty. He'd never hurt an innocent before and he wouldn't ever let that happen. Alibaba made sure of that.

Perhaps his nightmare had been about his parents. He'd been thinking about them a lot lately, and had even considered trying to call his mother and see how they were doing. The very real possibility of his mother ignoring his calls or telling him that they didn't want to speak to him so long as he was on probation killed that thought where it stood however. He could have very easily had a nightmare about them berating him again, no matter how commonplace those words had been before his move to Tokyo. It almost seemed ironic that he had come to that conclusion.

When he realized he wouldn't be getting anywhere in trying to figure out what had woken him up that morning he turned his attention back to his schoolwork, like he was supposed to be focusing on, and set about reviewing his notes. There wasn't much he was shaky on, but what he did feel uncertain about he vaguely remembered being forewarned it would be on the exams. Whether or not that would actually be true was a different story.

“...divide by this number, and you'll have the answer,” Akechi finished explaining. “Does that make at least a little bit more sense?”

“Yeah actually, it does. Don't know why hearin' you explain it to me made it stick better though,” Ryuji said and pulled his book back over to him. “Prob'ly 'cause you're not some dumb teacher who drones on and on and on about the stupidest of crap and expects us to figure out what's important and what ain't.”

“Can't be as bad as having a teacher completely derail your lessons for the day on conjugating verbs in English to talk about her poor date from the night before and complain about how little money he spent on her,” Akira chuckled and took a sip of coffee. “She went on for the entire class period. I eventually just started looking stuff up so I could learn something other than the menu prices at some high-class restaurant I'd never set foot in.”

“Holy shit that's hilarious dude. Not as bad as your teacher whippin' his shoes off and talkin' about the gunk he's got between his toes though. That was a day I wish I woulda skipped,” Ryuji said, visibly shuddering at the memory. “I swear I thought the hairs in my nose burned off.”

“I wasn't there and I can suddenly smell the guy's feet, please stop,” Akira laughed and shifted around in his seat a bit to get more comfortable. “You win, you win. Worst teacher award.”

“I'm beginning to think that your days at Shujin are just some horrible fever dream and that you really don't go to school,” Akechi said and set a hand on his forehead. “Kitagawa and I occasionally speak when we run into each other, and we got onto the topic of just such things. Apparently one of your teachers throws chalk at you?”

“Oh, yeah. Him. He's chucked a piece at me but it wasn't too bad to dodge. Some poor kid I sit beside got beaned in the forehead on Wednesday though. I heard the impact and I cringed. Ryuyu's lucky because he's in a different class than me, so he doesn't have to worry about that,” Akira said.

“Dude. Foot fungus. Pretty sure that's worse than chalk. The smell lingers.”

“Ryuyu please, you're making me uncomfortable now,” Akechi said and very gently set a hand over his mouth. Akira couldn't help but laugh at him now and sit back in his seat.

“Someone's got a weak stomach it seems,” he teased. Their eyes met and Akira felt certain that if looks could kill he'd be nothing more than a pile of ash right now. “You're a detective, have you never seen a body?”

“I have, but they've never smelled as bad as my nose suddenly provided for that teacher's feet,” Akechi admitted. “Ugh...I'm suddenly very glad I don't actually attend Shujin.” Ryuji shrugged at him and picked his pencil up to start working through a few practice problems.

“Not all the teachers are like that. There's like, one other weird as hell teacher. Apparently he keeps goin' on about this robot he made that he's tryin' to give a personality to. He's a third year teacher but there's a rumor goin' around that he won't be here next year, prob'ly since he makes some of the parents uncomfortable.” Sojiro walked over to set a fresh cup of coffee next to Akechi and took a quick look at the scattered notes on the table.

“It's weird seeing two of you with the same notes and then the one one of you with something completely different,” he chuckled. “You guys sure this is gonna work out? Seems kinda difficult to properly study when two of you can't help each other.”

“May not be able to help Akechi out, but he can sure as hell help us out,” Akira laughed. “I don't think I'll need to bug him too much, but Ryuyu might.” Ryuji groaned and reached over to swat Akira's arm softly.

“C'mon, I don't need that much help! Be nice to me Aki-chan!” Akira laughed and began putting his hand up in the way to block all of Ryuji's strikes at him. “You and Go-chan are both mean to me, why can't you be nice!?”

“We are nice to you Ryuyu, we just know you struggle with schoolwork,” Akechi chuckled. “We tease you because we care about you, you know.” Ryuji growled and flopped back down into his seat with a huff and a nasty expression that made Akechi's smile drop. “I'm sorry. Are you really upset with us? I didn't mean to push so hard.”

“Nah, you're fine. I'm playin' with you two,” he said. “I know you're just tryin' to help me out, and I know I'm not the smartest bulb in the bunch. The fact that you two are so insistent on helpin' is really nice actually.”

“You're our friend. We're supposed to help out,” Akira said. “If we can help get your grades up even a little bit then it means this has been a success, and that's mostly what we're going for.” He began flipping through his notebook and muttering to himself, so he didn't see the warm smile Ryuji gave him or the way that Akechi looked at him with earnest joy.

Akira had made such a positive impact in Ryuji's life in the short time they've known each other, and it absolutely warmed Akechi's heart to see the results in his friend. The few times they'd been able to meet and spend time together before Akira, Ryuji had been withdrawn and quiet and almost scared to speak, and now he was laughing and playing and acting like the bubbly child Akechi remembered him to be.

He couldn't be surprised that so much had changed, since almost nine years had passed, but it had been such a shock to him to see Ryuji slumped over with his eyes staying anywhere else but Akechi. When he heard about the accident he had felt almost like a failure to Ryuji, and in fact that had been what finally prompted him to get back in contact. It had taken him so long and he had worried Ryuji would scream at him and tell him to never talk to him again but he had been welcomed back with open arms and such ease that he didn't feel he deserved.

He owed Ryuji a lot for still considering him such a close friend after everything that had happened to him. If he had lost Ryuji he wasn't entirely sure he'd still be okay.

The coffee tasted wonderful to him and left a nice warmth settling in his belly that helped him focus on the sheets and pages in front of him but also reminded him that he hadn't had a chance to eat much. Self-preservation was admittedly low on his list of well-polished skills, and it showed in times like these. His stomach rumbled lowly as another reminder and he tried so hard to ignore it.

“Hey Akechi...when was the last time you ate anything?” Akira asked and set his pencil down to glare at the detective. When he didn't receive an immediate answer even Ryuji stopped in his work and turned to look at his friend with a worried expression.

“Go-chan...why ain't you answerin'?” Akechi sighed and put on a porcelain smile to ease his friends' worries.

“Oh, have we already been at this so long? I'm used to eating something light after school before I go home. I was so distracted with our conversation I forgot to make a stop for food,” he chuckled. “I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to eat.”

“I need a break anyway. My head's hurtin',” Ryuji sighed and stretched out as best he could in his seat. “Hey Aki-chan, mind makin' somma that curry you been talkin' about?”

“Sorry kids. Curry's off limits unless you pay,” Sojiro warned, and Ryuji grunted as a few joints popped. “I can spare the coffee. Can't spare the curry.”

“No fair Boss. What are we supposed to eat then? We need good food to study with you know,” Akira said. Immediately he felt a pit open up in his stomach at the realization he might have overstepped his boundaries with Sojiro and opened his mouth to apologize.

“You can get some 'good food' at that fast food joint. Besides, curry takes a while to make, and Akechi needs something to eat now. You kids go eat so your brains don't fry out,” Sojiro laughed. Ryuji bodyily shoved Akechi out of his seat in the booth and out through the glass door leading out, leaving Akira to trail behind them slowly. He made it to the end of the counter towards the door before he heard Sojiro clear his throat to get his attention.

“Hmm?”

“That blond kid. He's the one that's been in the news recently, right?” Akira's face scrunched up slightly, obviously not liking this line of questioning. He would have thought that Sojiro would have a bit more tact than this, but he also figured there was a reason he brought this up, so he stayed quiet and waited for Sojiro to continue. It took a while, Sojiro obviously trying to collect his thoughts and figure out where he wanted this conversation to go and how he wanted it worded. “...You're his friend. Right?”

“Yeah, I am,” Akira said, hip jutting out slightly and eyes meeting Sojiro's with a surprising amount of confidence.

“I just wanna make sure you know to be careful with him after what he went through. That stuff ain't easy to deal with, and I'm surprised he acts so normal right now. Kid's stronger than I would have given him cred for, that's for damn sure, but there's gonna be some lasting effects. Keep that in mind for later on down the road,” he said, a knowing light in his eyes and the barest hint of a grin on his lips. Akira's face began to turn a soft shade of red and that confidence from before was suddenly gone and replaced with mild embarrassment instead. He also refused to actually make eye contact with Sojiro now.

“I don't-”

“Kid I'm not blind. Doesn't take a genius to figure out how you feel about him. I played the game long enough to see the signs,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. “Don't think you've got it for him as bad as Akechi does, though. But it's probably a good idea to keep quiet about that kinda stuff for a little while. Let him come around and make that decision himself. Might not be a bad idea to talk about this with-”

“Trust me. There's no need to bring it up to Akechi,” Akira cut in. “He knows just as well as I do what Ryuyu went through. And the last thing he'll want to do is hurt the guy he's in love with. But...thanks. For not yelling at me like my parents did.” Sojiro watched the hurt flash across Akira's face and pieced together fairly quickly what he was referring to. The anger he felt must have been obvious, as Akira immediately turned his head down towards the floor and began formulating some sort of apology.

“Don't. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at your...parents,” Sojiro sighed. “Never did like 'em honestly.”

“That makes two of us,” Akira muttered before he could stop himself. Immediately the panic settled in and he offered up an apology. “Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I-”

“Hey. From what little I've gathered I can't really blame you for not liking them. Your friends are probably waiting for you, so I'd go ahead and hurry after them before they come back to check on you,” Sojiro huffed. Akira's head jerked and he took a few steps towards the door leading outside. “Oh. Before you go though...”

“Yeah?”

“I know this isn't technically a 'date,' but if you really like the kid then it's only right you buy his food.” Akira groaned at him, another blush creeping up on his cheeks, and rolled his eyes as he stepped out onto the streets. Sojiro's head shook softly from side to side, the smile on his face only lingering for a few seconds before dropping to let a scowl take its place instead.

 

Souji's skin stung a little bit from where he'd been spinning the rings for so long, but he didn't care. They were both there, together, on his hand. One of them should have been on somebody else's hand instead, but that would never happen again. At least he had a piece, though, a reminder of the best almost two years of his life. The headphones around his neck felt so much lighter than they had before too. More like a comforting arm around his shoulders than a corpse weighing him down.

The alcohol in front of him burned a bit going down but the warmth it spread within him made the pain worth it. He thought back to his twentieth birthday, how he'd spent it with someone else besides Yosuke drinking and bawling his eyes out about not being able to share this with Yosuke since his birthday had been a month before Souji's. He would have been legal, they would have been able to sit down together and get plastered and maybe even end up in bed together. 

He did end up sleeping with someone that night, and it hurt a little less than he thought it would have to wake up the next morning with someone clinging to him in their sleep. He didn't think he'd ever find himself in a serious relationship after losing Yosuke, but that didn't mean he couldn't have people around to keep him company.

Memories flooded back to him suddenly, and his heart squeezed. Yosuke curled up around him the night they confessed to each other, Yosuke underneath him the first time they made love, Yosuke's face when he received the promise ring...Souji fully expected to break down in tears as he always did when thinking about the past but this time he held strong. His eyes stung and his throat squeezed closed but the tears never fell. He wondered if maybe it was the fact that he had Yosuke's ring on him now.

Maybe he should go back to Inaba for a little while and visit Yosuke's grave. The pain of losing him had kept him away for so long, and the last time he'd been there had been Souji's last birthday. Having the ring back made things a little easier for him. A piece of him that had been lost for years had finally come back and even if he'd never be completely okay he could at least feel a little bit more normal. A little bit more normal, even.

Carefully he pulled the headphones off from around his neck and let his eyes roam over them slowly. The last song he'd listened to on these headphones had been some western pop song that Yosuke had found and thought he might like. The last time he'd seen these headphones on their original owner had been a selfie he'd sent Souji while hanging out with Chie and his younger adopted brother Teddie two days before Souji's return to Inaba. The last time he had felt okay looking at these headphones in his hands had been beside the river with Yosuke during Golden Week his third year.

Yosuke would probably laugh at him if he were there. Tell him off for getting so sentimental over a pair of headphones. Maybe it seemed stupid but Souji couldn't help it. He wanted to stop thinking about Yosuke and keep dragging those memories back up and move on., but...could you even really move on after losing someone you loved so much? He'd seen people lose a spouse after twenty, thirty years and eventually remarry, but he wondered if it would be possible for him. People would argue with him that he was young, he would find someone else to love, but dammit he didn't want to love anyone else. He could still say with certainty that he wanted Yosuke back at his side, even if he would never be granted that wish.

But...maybe, eventually, he could open back up to another person the way he did to Yosuke. Not exactly the same, since nobody would ever be able to replace him, but enough to maybe feel like he was finally making progress. Kanji always told him that it wouldn't be fair to Yosuke to close himself off after so much work had been done to open him up. Maybe he should listen and take that advice to heart finally. Rise had tried to set him up a few times but the dates had always left a nasty taste in his mouth by the end. Nobody had ever gotten a second one with him.

Before he knew it he was taking the last train back to Inaba and calling his uncle to let him know he was taking a bit of a vacation. It would only be for a couple of days he promised, he just needed to clear his head of a few things. Dojima had grumbled something at him but promised his old room would be available to sleep in for however long he would be staying. It would be nice to cook for them again, since he'd already been in Tokyo for almost a month at this point, and being back in the quiet of Inaba might do him even more good.

When he stepped into his room that night, instead of the normal feeling of nostalgia that made him hesitate in the doorway longer than he needed to, he felt a steady pressure against him that seemed to shove him towards his futon for sleep. For the first time in a while it came easily to him, and for the first time in even longer he woke up feeling like he'd actually gotten some sleep. Breakfast waited for Nanako and Dojima when they woke up; Souji didn't.

The graveyard looked the same as it always had. Tucked off at the edge of town and away from where anybody ever really went, it afforded Souji the quiet he would need for this. Every step drained his resolve a little more until he found himself standing in front of a familiar marker and settling down in front of it to speak.

“...It's been a while, Partner.” Those five short words already had him tearing up, but he knew he couldn't stop. If he stopped he would chicken out and leave, and his whole reason for coming here would be pointless. He owed it to Yosuke and, more importantly, he owed it to himself. “Your ring finally turned up. Konishi had it. You remember Akechi, right? He's the one who found it. He...gave it back to me a couple of days ago.” He bit at his lower lip in the hopes that the stinging would take his mind off of the tears trying to fall down his cheeks.

“I cried about you again. In front of Akechi, no less. I told him about you. About what happened, about...about Adachi. It lifted a weight off my shoulders this time. Maybe because I had your ring with me.” He sniffled, a lump firmly lodging itself in his throat, and tried to clear it out. “Akechi's grown up so much since you saw him last. He's turning eighteen soon. He'll be graduating next year...he's talking about going to university to continue pursuing a career in criminal justice. I don't think he'll have trouble getting in for that, do you?” The laugh he let out sounded more forced than he'd intended it to. “He's probably getting himself a boyfriend soon, if either of them can stop being stupid for five seconds and tell the other how they feel. It would be nice to see Akechi happy finally.” He curled his legs to his chest in the hopes it would ease the pressure in his chest and stomach a bit.

“Things are still hard without you. I'm pretty sure they'll always be hard, but...it seemed like everything was just a little bit easier when I had you to talk to. I could open up to you so easily. You and the others worked so hard on pulling me out of my shell and yet...I'm going back in. Chie and Yukiko try so hard to make me feel better, and Rise always sends me stuff from wherever she's performing now. She's actually retiring next year. Not like she did when we were in high school. Actually retiring this time. Naoto's getting ready to settle down somewhere instead of running all over Japan, and Kanji's always making me things to cheer me up. I know they can tell how much it hurts me to know you're gone, but...they don't know why.” He closed his eyes and took a slow, shaky breath. In the back of his mind he'd always known why Yosuke's murder had destroyed him so thoroughly, but until now he'd never had the courage to admit it.

“...I blame myself. I wasn't careful enough in my work. I was just sloppy enough that Adachi found out, and killed you out of jealousy. It's...my fault you're gone. It's always been my fault you're not here. My work as the Perfectionist came back to haunt me in the worst way possible. I was young and stupid and it cost me. Adachi killed you because of me, and I feel like...you should hate me.” Another lump settled in his throat; this one took a minute or two to work loose.

“But I know you wouldn't. I know you don't. Even now you still love me, because you swore to me you always would. Even if you're not here to say those words to me I just know you still love me as much as I love you. My own hang-ups have been biting me over and over again and not letting me grow. Not letting me change the way I need to. It isn't fair to waste the work you and our friends have done for me. I...I need to let go. I need to accept you're gone and I need to accept you're never coming back and I need to stop holding on to you. I keep using you as an excuse for the way I feel and the way I act and it isn't fair to anyone. Especially not you, Partner.” When his eyes opened everything had turned blurry, and it took a few seconds to understand that there were tears in his eyes. He slowly blinked them away, mentally tracing them as they slid down his cheeks.

“Nothing will ever change how much I love you, or how much I miss you. But I can't keep myself closed off because of you. Maybe now that I have another piece of you to remember you by it'll be easier. Maybe it'll be harder because of that piece. But I have to try, dammit. I can't just...let myself stagnate like this.” Very slowly and very carefully he pulled himself up to his feet, taking care to brush the dust off of himself, and turned his attention back to the grave marker.

“You changed my life for the better, Partner. I may have taken a couple of steps back from where you left me, but...I think I'm ready to run ahead now. I doubt I'll end up at the place where you were leading me, but it's time I started making my own trail. One day I know we'll see each other again, and I know we'll be together the way we were now. Just...wait for me, okay? I'm a bit of a slowpoke sometimes. You know this.” He laughed, and this one sounded genuine even if it was soaked in the tears still pouring down his cheeks. “...I love you, Yosuke. I don't think I ever said it enough when we were together.” He brought his hand up now to kiss the stone of Yosuke's ring, a warmth flooding him and loosening the ball of tension in his stomach, and quietly but calmly turned to head back home for the day.

A gentle breeze seemed to follow him the entire way home, wrapping around him in a soft farewell as he stepped inside to the sounds of Dojima complaining loudly about Chie slacking off in her work again and Nanako giggling softly about it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey so you guys want Kaneshiro torture? Because Kaneshiro torture is probably coming up next. <3 It's already a good bit done, I'm surprisingly a lot more okay with writing it this time LOL. Definitely not as much buildup as there was with Kamoshida, but I've been drawing this out long enough, I'm worried it's getting too long. Things are picking up after Kaneshiro. PROMISE they're picking up after Kaneshiro.  
> Also. Don't...just don't fuck with Minato man. He ain't got time for *nobody's* shit.  
> 

Akira slowly ran a hand through his messy hair, eyes fixed on the warp in the support beam overhead and mind three thousand miles away. It had been three weeks since Crow's answer to his flirting, and he knew that he needed to hurry and give a response as well. It wouldn't look good if Joker took too long to respond. Or maybe the longer he took the better? Give it the illusion of him deciding whether or not Crow was worth his time or not. That could probably work out.

But that itch was back. The itch to help, the itch to kill and smell blood and wreak havoc if only for a little bit. It needed to be scratched or it would consume him like hellfire and leave him some sort of broken shell of himself that would be a disgrace to not only his parents but himself, and even more of a disgrace to Joker.

As a way to distract himself he rolled over on the floor and reached underneath his pillow to grab his dagger, then pulled himself up to rest his back against the flimsy mattress and proceeded to flip the blade in his hands. It always seemed to help him think; Akira couldn't count the number of times that he had lost himself completely while doing this.

His next target absolutely had to draw attention. Kamoshida had been a lucky hit, being an Olympian and a teacher at Shujin academy, but he knew that if he wanted to make this as big as it needed to be he would need to find someone absolutely worthy of the kill. The problem came with the fact that he was always just so damn busy and unable to really look around to find anyone he could target. He'd been proud of himself for getting Kamoshida completely on his own, but he knew that was a lucky shot in the dark. He'd need help for this one.

But...he figured he had at least a little bit of time to just blank and let his mind wander.

With nothing else to occupy his mind his attention turned to Ryuji and Akechi instead. Memories of Limbs wrapped up in each other and lips pressed together pushed to the forefront, followed by memories of warm smiles and giggles warmed his heart in a different way. He loved Akechi, there was no getting around it. They'd known each other for two years now and carried a tentative friendship that recently evolved into weekly meet-ups to fuck and Akira always had problems with falling fast and hard.

As evidenced by the way he felt for Ryuji now. This wasn't some stupid crush that would disappear in a week or two, obviously. Akira had fallen in love with his newest friend that he'd only met just last month. Perhaps it seemed a bit pathetic but to Akira it made perfect sense. He'd been affection-deprived most of his life, only really getting physical touch and attention after he began killing, and even then only from Minato. Ryuji laughed at his stupid jokes and didn't mind when he got what would normally be too close for comfort and seemed to genuinely enjoy Akira's company. Not like everyone else who had ever come into his life before.

He wondered what Akechi would do if he confessed. If he would panic and try to convince Akira to stop lying or if he would shut down completely. Maybe he would even hit Akira. The pain would be nice and pleasant, that's for sure. A part of him may even feel just a little bit more alive after Akechi smacked him. There was obviously a sadistic streak tucked underneath that detective facade of Akechi's and god did Akira want to bring it to the surface so it could mingle with his own.

When the blade landed in his hand again he sighed and tucked it back underneath the pillow of his bed. There wasn't really any point in him sticking around Leblanc waiting for an answer from Alibaba, and that only seemed to be making things harder for him by letting him stew in his feelings. A nice trip somewhere else was probably in order, and Ann had promised to take him out to thank him for trying to help Ryuji...

That plan crashed and burned when he messaged Ann and her immediate reply was to tell him she was busy with Shiho and couldn't do anything today. He'd felt certain that the 'except her' tacked onto the end didn't need to be said, considering how many typos she made. He found it a little cute and even endearing how close Ann and Shiho were with each other, and couldn't stop the pang of jealousy he felt at it. At least she could have her girlfriend and not have to hide as much as he did.

There was no point in getting salty over it, he realized, and decided to just be happy that Shiho was okay after everything that had happened. He made a mental note to message her and ask about her later, and instead turned his thoughts to Yuuki. They'd been up until early that morning texting each other and assuring Akira that he was beginning to recover slowly but fully intended on getting actual help to make sure his recovery progressed smoothly. They'd touched on Ryuji getting help too but eventually decided to drop the subject since he wasn't included and couldn't give his honest input.

Akira suddenly sat upright, rigid as a wooden plank, and began chuckling to himself. Hell, he hadn't even been here a month and he seemed to have attracted people to him like flies. He'd made friends easily enough back in his hometown but this...this was a whole other level. He'd gone from not having anybody to speak with or talk to to having a guardian who genuinely cared about him, two boys he'd fallen in love with, two people he could potentially consider actual friends, and two people he would be friends with by proxy since they were Yuuki's and Ann's lovers. Really, he needed to get to know Yusuke and Shiho better but between his work as Joker and being busy with school work he never really had much time to invite them anywhere or hang out. Maybe he should try to remedy that soon.

He didn't get much of a chance to think about this before his phone went off and got his attention. He expected it to be Ryuji or Akechi perhaps. Definitely not the student council president. He was pretty sure her name was Nijima...? Makoto, perhaps.

_Kurusu, could I ask you to meet me someplace? I need to speak with you. It's urgent. I hope I'm not ruining your Sunday plans._

_Nah. Don't have anything to do. There's a cafe that I'm always at. Leblanc. Meet me there._

_I'll be there in twenty minutes then. Thank you for agreeing to this._

Akira stretched after setting his phone down onto the floor and groaned softly, running a hand through his unruly hair and scratching at it softly. He hadn't spoken to Nijima since their agreement when he broke into Kobayakwa's office to look around. Why the hell was she suddenly wanting to talk to him? Was she planning on turning him in for what he'd done? He could refute things on his end no problem, but if she'd kept the messages between the two of them then that would be it.

His stomach rumbled to remind him he hadn't eaten anything yet since waking up and should probably head downstairs to make sure he didn't keel over from starvation. The last thing he needed was to pass out in front of the student council president when she planned on ratting him out finally. Or maybe she would be blackmailing him into something? That seemed just as likely. A part of him wondered if she planned to threaten him into sex or something. Wouldn't be the first time that had happened to him actually.

Sojiro waved at him, prompting him to wave back as he slipped out of Leblanc to go get something quick to eat. Thankfully it was just a quick trip to Big Bang Burger, leaving him plenty of time to stuff his face before Nijima actually showed up. He even spent a little bit of time dicking around on his phone before he heard the jingle of the bell over the door and glanced over to see Nijima standing at the door and staring at him pensively. Her brows pinched together and her bottom lip sat between her teeth nervously.

“Hello, Nijima. Surprised you wanted to talk to me. Can I ask why?” Nijima's mouth opened then closed, then opened back up again.

“...Perhaps we could speak somewhere private? I don't want anyone possibly overhearing us,” she finally said, and Akira had to try not to snort. Oh yeah. He figured this was where things were going with her. A bit surprised that it was coming from the student council president but sometimes the good girls were the worst girls. Without a word Akira stood from his seat and jerked his head at towards the stairs, pretending not to see the raised eyebrow Sojiro gave him, and began climbing up. He could hear Nijima's shoes on the wood behind him so he didn't hesitate at the top to check and see if she was following him.

Once they were in his shoddy room he immediately moved over to plop down on his bed and flick his glasses off onto the mattress beside him. He then crossed one leg up over the other and balanced onto his hands behind him. When Nijima stopped halfway across the room from him and furrow her brows even further he just let his head dip slightly to the left.

“...Is this...where you live?” she asked quietly. “It seems kind of...shabby.” Akira shrugged at her as best he could while still propped on his arms and began kicking his leg back and forth absently.

“It's not too bad. I haven't had much of a chance to decorate. Not really a point in it anyway, either, since I'm only gonna be here for a year. But I'm wondering why you're standing in the middle of my bedroom still twiddling your thumbs...?” This seemed to snap Nijima out of her thoughts and make her clear her throat.

“Right. I came here for a reason. Ummm...There's something I would like for you to look into for me, if you don't mind. I would greatly appreciate it, in fact. If you decline I will absolutely understand, but...please. For my peace of mind, I would appreciate you doing this for me.” Akira stared at her dumbly, and the expression seemed to have shown and gave Nijima pause. “Kurusu...?”

“...Oh. Sorry. Thinking about something else. What do you need me to check out?” he said and clapped his hands down onto his thighs. Nijima smiled at him, a little crooked and a little awkward, and nodded her head.

“Right. There are students at Shujin that have gone missing as of recently. It's obvious that there's something going on, and...I hate to use this as an excuse, but with your reputation as a delinquent I figured that you would be better suited to investigating this than myself. I hope you don't mind...” Akira shook his head at her and uncrossed his legs to lean forward now.

“Nah. I don't mind. I understand why you want me to do this for you. Shujin students are disappearing and the principal's breathing down your neck. Right? Probably bribing you with a letter for college?” Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at that. Obviously she didn't expect him to figure this out and she sure as hell didn't expect him to speak so casually about it either. “Not surprised, honestly. But yeah. I'll look into it for you. Not sure how long it'll take me to get anything but I'll keep you updated. Promise.” She visibly relaxed at that, a hand coming up to rest on her chest loosely. The sigh she let out showed even more how much more relaxed she obviously seemed now.

“Thank you so much, Kurusu. I was afraid you would tell me no and I would have to do this on my own...” It didn't take a genius to figure out that Nijima trying to figure this out on her own would end disastrously. If Shujin students were disappearing, then they were ones obviously being sold off to sick bastards who wanted them for personal use, and Nijima was pretty enough to end up a victim herself. Akira knew his charms and good looks would make him a target as well, but he felt very confident that Nijima wouldn't be able to protect herself if she was snatched.

“Do you have any leads on where I might want to start looking?” he asked. She sighed softly at that and reached up to readjust the hairband in her hair so it fit better.

“Some of the kids have talked about finding an easy job on the streets. That may be the best place to start. I'm sorry I can't provide much more help in this,” she said. “But please be careful. I don't want to be the reason another student disappears. I'm not sure I would be able to live with myself if that happened.” Akira stood up from his bed to come over to her and set a hand on her shoulder to squeeze reassuringly.

“Hey. Don't think about that. I'll be fine. There won't be any more students disappearing if I can help it. And I promise I won't let myself become another victim. Just trust me on this, okay?” She nodded again and set a hand on his hand to squeeze it as well.

“Thank you for the reassurance, Kurusu. I hate to drop this on you and then suddenly disappear, but I'm afraid I need to return home so I can study more,” she said. Akira slid his hand away and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans with a curt not and watched her turn to head back downstairs and leave the cafe now.

Akira groaned in frustration and turned to sit back down on his bed. This...was definitely not what he thought Nijima had been coming to him about. Completely off in left field in fact, but arguably a much better outcome then him getting propositioned and-or blackmailed for sex. This way he didn't have to sleep with someone else when he didn't...really want to sleep with anyone else. His unfortunate crush (because that's all it was, a stupid crush, Akira wasn't in love with him, absolutely not, nope) made that thought a little uncomfortable.

After stewing on his bed for the better part of an hour he realized there really wasn't any time like the present to do as he was asked and rolled over off the bed to get changed into some slightly nicer clothes from what he was wearing. If whoever it was wanted pretty kids then he'd need to put a little bit more effort into his appearance than normal. He even took the time to make his normally unruly hair look at least a little bit more like the messiness was intentional before skipping out of the cafe.

“What was that girl here for?” Sojiro asked him as his feet hit the floor of the cafe. Akira just shrugged in answer at Sojiro and kept walking.

“Don't worry. Something school related. I'll be back later tonight, so don't wait up for me,” he said calmly. Admittedly he probably sounded a little harsh and maybe even a little bit flippant but he didn't really have much time to think about this. Plus this would give him a potential new target to kill as Joker, and he needed one right now. He needed to give Crow his reply soon.

Given the proximity of Shibuya to Shujin he figured that would probably be the best place to start his search. If there were students talking about easy work there was no way in hell it would be legit. This was shady, under-the-table work, and given how big the city was he wouldn't be surprised if that involved drug trafficking. It was obvious this also tacked human trafficking on top of it, but that was what Akira was counting on. It was risky and dangerous as hell, but it would work.

As he stepped off the train into Shibuya he fished his phone out and sent a message to one of his contacts.

_Doing something stupid. Calling in case shit goes down._

He then tapped the call button on his phone and stuck it back into his pocket before shovin headphones into his ears without music as he walked down the street, eyes slowly sliding back and forth across the street in the hopes of seeing anything or anyone that might catch his attention. He tried to appear as distracted as possibly while still staying aware of his surroundings, hoping it would convince someone to try and approach him.

Unfortunately, his plan seemed to work better than he thought. He slipped off down a side alley for a moment to check his messages and let Nijima know he hadn't found anything yet but before he could get his phone out a hand clamped down over his mouth. A sickeningly sweet scent hit him and thanks to careful research, and even using it a few times himself, he knew what the hell it was.

He knew he had time to get away, so he jammed his foot down behind him to try and get his attacker to jerk and let him go. Unfortunately his foot hit concrete hard enough to shoot a jolt of pain up his leg, and then the backs of his legs were kicked out from behind him to drop him down to his knees. A bit of panic began settling in as his hands scrabbled to try and claw the cloth from over his nose. He was becoming steadily more lightheaded and knew that soon he wouldn't be able to focus enough to fight. He pitched backwards in the hope that he would be able to get a few clean breaths that way but felt a hand shove against the back of his head to hold him still. A second, much stronger pair of hands grabbed at his wrists to hold them in front of him, and Akira knew he was done for. In a weak last-dtich effort he tried to kick back wards but only hit air at the same second his vision finally left him.

 

The first thing Akira noticed when he woke up was that the floor was fucking cold. The next thing he noticed was that he wasn't wearing the clothes he'd been wearing when he left Leblanc. In fact...he felt pretty certain he was wearing a dress of some sorts, if the soft material against his skin and the short hem only hitting at half thigh told him anything. When he tried to bring a hand up to rub his head he felt it jerk against a thick chain and even thicker cuffs. His vision was still a bit blurred when he finally opened his eyes and saw dark gray stone and black leather loafers.

Oh. Someone was standing in front of him. He had just enough time to process this bit of information before a hand sank into his hair to haul him up into a sitting position. The stinging made him hiss and shift around uncomfortably. His eyes locked with beady, ugly brown ones and made him almost reel back.

“Good to see you're finally awake, you little runt.” This time Akira did jerk back; the overwhelming smell of cigars and some cheap alcohol caused bile to raise up in the back of his throat. The fingers in his hair tightened more and made him grunt in actual and almost unbearable pain. “Geeze, they weren't kidding when they said you were a pretty boy. If I didn't know any better I'd actually think you were a chick.”

“Who the hell are you?” Akira spat. A sneer raised the corner of his captor's lips, and for a brief moment Akira thought he'd end up getting his head bounced against the concrete floor. Instead he found himself shoved backwards and trying to keep his legs closed to protect at least a little bit of his modesty.

“I suppose I could tell you who I am. Name's Kaneshiro Junya, and you're my next sale. Already got a buyer for you and everything. You're gonna fetch me a _good_ price, pretty boy. Shame you ain't a girl. Pink's your color.” Akira finally looked down to see what the hell he'd been stuck in and let out a strangled choking sound of embarrassment.

He'd been shoved into a pink babydoll, a soft pastel color that wasn't quite Akira's cup of tea but he could recognize would look good with his fair complexion and dark hair. He could just barely make out the edge of a black pair of panties and felt extremely grateful that he had kept his legs crossed. He didn't need some ugly creep oggling him.

“You got off lucky, brat. I usually sample my wares before I sell 'em but I sure as hell ain't gay. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go spend a little time with my girl before the deal goes down,” he huffed and turned to leave through a heavy metal door behind him. It slammed shut behind with a resounding 'thud' loud enough to make Akira jump a bit in surprise. The room felt like ice around him and raised goosebumps all along his exposed skin. The chain pinning him to the floor kept him from wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm, leaving him extremely uncomfortable and extremely scared.

He hadn't actually expected these goons to know what the hell they were doing. Most people didn't know the best way to keep from getting knocked out the way he did, and yet they'd countered everything he'd done with practiced ease. The way that was supposed to go was Akira kicking some guy's ass and getting his boss's name out of him, not him actually getting kidnapped, shoved in skimpy clothing, and sold off to some sick pervert who would probably break him and kill him.

Nausea swirled in his stomach at the sudden thought and made him grimace. God. He was actually gonna be sold off. There was no realistic way for him to get out of this now. Even if he had a lock pick on him his hands were both firmly cuffed together, leaving him no wiggle room to work with, and the two armed guards he could see out of the corners of his eyes would have stopped him long before he'd gotten a pick in. Provided he could somehow manage to pick the lock without getting caught, he had zero weapons on him right now and wouldn't be able to fight back against them easily. He would probably end up getting shot before he could make a break for it.

Tears began rolling down his cheeks before he knew it. He could say that he was honestly fucking scared right now. No way of knowing what would happen to him, no way of knowing who would buy him. He thought of Akechi and the fact that he would probably regard Akira's disappearance as a mild inconvenience, Sojiro would be trying to explain to his parents what happened like they would actually care and Ryuji-

Ryuji would be heartbroken to hear his newest friend had vanished. He'd be worried sick for Akira and trying to convince everyone around him that they needed to look. They couldn't just leave him to disappear, they had to do something to help. But every one of them would shake their heads at him and say there was no point, Akira was likely already long gone and searching would only get his hopes up unnecessarily. And the tears fell harder with this realization because he knew just how fucking true it really was. So much for friendship right?

Soon enough the quiet tears turned into full-on sobs of frustration and fear. He'd known this was dangerous and he still went headfirst into it. He knew he should have told Nijima that he couldn't do it but he'd done it anyway. Some stranger would get their hands on him and he'd never see anybody he knew ever again. He knew he shouldn't fixate on that but with it being in his very near future it was admittedly hard not to. They'd break him and use him and torture him and throw him off to the side when they grew bored of him and-

And nothing would change no matter how hard he wished for it. His shoulders drooped lazily downwards and his eyes flicked down to the ground in defeat. This was it. He was a goner now.

He knew he should have said something to Akechi or Ryuji sooner.

 

Very few things could get an honest emotional response from Minato at this point in his life. There weren't many other emotions you could really experience after killing your lover. Frustration maybe, especially when something didn't quite go the way it was supposed to. A bit of joy when there was a cat curled up on his chest demanding attention.

Anger? Was definitely not something Minato thought he would be experiencing for a long while after what happened, but here he was, stalking through the streets of Shibuya with white-hot rage in his eyes and such a tension in his body that everyone he came across jumped out of his way as soon as they saw him. The briefcase in his hand felt heavy but that was the last thing honestly on his mind. Right now he had one singular mission.

And that mission was to buy back his student to keep him from ending up dead somewhere within the month.

He'd gotten lucky when Akira had decided to text him before calling, otherwise Minato might have ignored it. But Akira and 'doing stupid shit' tended to mean he was putting himself in harm's way for one reason or another, meaning Minato needed to listen and make sure nothing went too terribly wrong. He hadn't even panicked when he'd heard the first sounds of a scuffle, fully expecting Akira to handle things on his own as he'd been taught. Worry started to see in after about thirty seconds when he still couldn't hear anything besides the sound of a mic scraping across fabric and breaths growing steadily more panicked before nothing.

“Damn, this one's a pretty one. Good cheekbones, but feisty. Boss'll be happy to know we got a good one for him. How much you think he'll go for?”

“No telling, but I'm pretty sure Kaneshiro's gonna stick a good price on him. If I didn't just blow all my cash last week I'd buy him my damn self. C'mon, we gotta get him back before anyone notices.”

Minato had understandably panicked, as that meant Akira really was in danger and needed help, but soon enough he'd managed to calm himself down and set a plan in motion, which consisted of tracking down this Kaneshiro person and buying Akira outright for twice the original asking price with the stipulation that nobody else be allowed to bid on him. Somehow it had worked, he'd been given an address and a time, and now he was on his way there with a heavy briefcase stacked full of cash and every intention of hurting someone if Akira had so much as a hair out of place on his head.

The club struck him as a little bit odd, but a quick bit of prying had told him this was a common haunt for this particular trafficker. It made a bit of sense that he'd want to meet here to pass off the wares since it was common knowledge the club owner had made a home in Kaneshiro's pockets. Safe, secure, trusted. It was a seedy back alley location to boot and meant that anybody could leave with anybody and nobody would bat an eyelash. Normally it would disgust him but right now it made things just a little bit easier for him.

Seeing someone as admittedly ugly as Kaneshiro sprawled out on a couch with a girl on his arm obviously high as a kite absolutely did not surprise him. He'd seen his fair share of questionable people and questionable behaviors beforehand, so this didn't phase him in the least bit. When he stopped in front of the table and locked eyes with Kaneshiro he felt a fresh wave of anger wash over him.

“You Kaneshiro?” he said. A bit of venom seeped into his tone but either Kaneshiro didn't notice or didn't care, as he calmly sat up straight and set his arms on his knees to lean forward. The girl at his side slide down with a soft whine.

“ _You're_ the one buyin' the kid? Never quite pegged me as the type, but hey. Can't judge a book by it's cover after all. You got the cash?” Minato's right hand swung forward a little bit, but when one of Kaneshiro's lackeys moved to take it from him he swung upwards with all of his might and cracked the bastard in the nose. Three guns immediately trained themselves on him, his deathly calm demeanor causing Kaneshiro's will and arm both to shake just a little bit.

“You get the cash when I see the kid,” he hissed. There was no intent of hiding the malice in his voice anymore. If he were given the opportunity he'd punch Kaneshiro in his face until everything was black and blue, but until he had Akira safe in his hands and out of this place he'd remain at least a little bit civil. “He's not up to snuff, this doesn't happen. Do I make myself clear?”

“Pretty cheeky for someone whose reputation would plummet if word got out that you were buying some high schooler, but sure. Whatever.” The look in Minato's eyes promised pain and retribution if things went wrong, and for some reason a part of Kaneshiro believed that he would absolutely fulfill that promise. After swallowing down a lump in his throat he turned towards one of his guards on his left. “Go get the brat now. And for the love of god, _don't_ bust this one in the lip. Lip scars ain't pretty, and I don't want this one getting ruined like the last one.” A grunt came in response before the guard quietly slipped off down a back hallway that blended in perfectly with its surroundings thanks to the dark lighting of the club. Kaneshiro reached forward to grab a glass of what Minato could tell was whiskey and took a sip of it.

The tension hung thick in the air and seemed to make Kaneshiro jittery. Despite being the one with the most control over Akira's life it seemed Minato's levelheadedness had ruined any semblance of calm he might have had before. Kaneshiro couldn't sit still, either messing with his phone or taking another sip of his alcohol or something to keep his hands moving. Being closer to the hallway he was the first to hear footsteps coming down the hall, and the first to hear the sound of crying. The face he made must not have sat well with Minato as his one visible eye narrowed slightly.

“Gonna warn you, this one seems to be a crier,” he snapped as the brat was shoved bodily out of the hallway and into another guard's arms. Minato visibly cringed at the state of the poor boy, and not just the tears in his eyes, and turned his attention back towards Kaneshiro.

“Where are his things? Clothes, phone, everything. I want it back. Now,” he snapped. Kaneshiro huffed and leaned back against the booth he sat in, shuffling forward suddenly to shove the girl out of the way so he could relax.

“Why would you-”

“Do you want my money or not?” Minato held Kaneshiro's gaze steady for long enough that Kaneshiro was the one to break eye contact.

“Go get his crap. Bring it out.” The guard holding Akira now threw him forward into Minato's chest and walked off. Immediately one of Minato's arms wrapped itself around his shoulders to hold him reassuringly. He kept his voice low, lips just a scant inch or two away from Akira's ear.

“Don't worry. You're safe now. I'm right here. We'll get your things and I'll take you home. I promise. Just relax,” he whispered, and Minato both felt and saw the tension drain out of Akira's entire body. His slim frame settled further against Minato's chest as he began to openly sob now. He pulled Minato into an almost painfully tight hug and tried sputtering out some sort of thanks or explanation or something. All that managed to come out was muffled whines and an occasional “I'm sorry” that Minato hushed with a fresh run of his hand along Akira's back.

When the guard comes back with Akira's things, Minato immediately snatches Akira's phone to stick it in his pocket, then grabs his clothes to very carefully hand to Akira.

“Get dressed and we'll leave. Okay?” Akira sniffled and somehow managed to find enough of his voice to get what Minato felt certain was a 'thank you' out of his throat before being gently shoved off towards one of the restrooms in the club. Before Kaneshiro could raise his voice Minato calmly flung the briefcase of cash at him, hitting him square in the chest and winding him a bit. He hadn't meant to throw it with that much force but the anger was beginning to burn in him again. He could see Kaneshiro pop the lid on it and run his grubby hands all over the stacks inside before clicking it back shut and looking up at Minato.

“So how'd you figure out I was selling him? You obviously know the kid. Surprised you spent this much to get him back,” Kaneshiro laughed. “What is he, your boyfriend or something? Must really love the kid if you were willing to blow that much on him.”

“He isn't my boyfriend. My lover has been dead for years,” Minato snapped. He pushed his bangs out of his face and tucked them behind his ear, giving Kaneshiro a good look at the entirety of his face and making sure he could see every little spark of emotion running across it as he spoke. “Now listen here, you little scumbag. You could have very well caused a lot of problems for yourself today if I hadn't found him, if I hadn't been the one to buy him. Snatching up kids isn't the smartest decision in the world but I'm pretty sure you've never made one of those in your fucking _life_. If there had been even one fucking paper cut on Akira I can assure you this entire thing would have gone down on much different terms than what it did, and I can absolutely promise that you wouldn't have survived any of it. You got off lucky tonight, but I can't promise you the same can be said for next time.” After taking a very slow breath to force a bit of calm to run through his body, he felt a bright smile settle onto his lips. Strange, but he figured it would help drive the point home. His voice suddenly took on a much more chipper tone to it. “But I should thank you for your cooperation. It was very instrumental in preventing me from gutting you like the pig you are~”

“Y...you...I...I...” Kaneshiro swallowed down a thick lump in his throat and tried to steady the shaking running across his entire body. Something warm settled below his waist and it took him an embarrassingly long time to realize that he hadn't spilled anything on his lap. His entire face felt hot, the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching in rhythm with the muscles of his shoulders. Minato felt an honest laugh bubble up from somewhere deep in his chest just as Akira stumbled up behind him to grab at his arm.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Kaneshiro. I sincerely hope we don't see each other again. Things won't be quite so civil the second time.” He slowly turned to give Akira a chance to follow him and strolled out of the club with a resolute air of finality around him. Once they were outside and a bit further down the street Minato carefully spun Akira to look at him.

“Hey. Hey Akira. Akira, look at me.” It took a scary amount of time for Akira to finally look up, and when he did Minato let out a breathy sigh.

“Senpai I'm sorry I...Nijima asked me to...to look into the trafficking and I...I thought that I could...could help and I didn't think I'd get snatched and...Senpai I was so fucking scared, I thought for sure that some creep would buy me and I didn't...I couldn't...” He broke down in tears again and shoved his face into Minato's chest a bit more forcefully than he intended to, which knocked him back a step in surprise. Minato relaxed ever so slightly and gingerly let his arms wrap around Akira to hold him. “Thank you for saving me...I'm so sorry Senpai...”

“Don't worry about it Akira. What's important is that you're safe right now,” he whispered. A hand began sifting through Akira's hair through his sobbing to help calm him down more. They stood there for a while, Minato more than content to let Akira cry this out and honestly not blaming him. As emotionless as Minato seemed to be he felt confident that even he would have started to break even in that situation.

Still running a hand through Akira's hair he calmly reached into his pocket to fish out Akira's phone. He had the passcode memorized and immediately went to send a message to Sojiro. Once that had been taken care of he slipped it back into his pocket and gently patted Akira's back again.

“Hey. Come on. Let's get you back to Leblanc, alright?” he whispered. Akira nodded softly and pulled away from him to wipe at his eyes and nose and laugh awkwardly.

“Sorry I made a mess of your jacket, Senpai...I'll get it washed for you, I promise.” Minato shook his head at Akira and patted his shoulder instead.

“Don't worry about it. You went through a lot today. A bit of snot on one of my jackets is nothing to worry about,” he said and began walking down the street finally. Akira settled in on his side easily and sniffled again so he could speak.

“Hey...so how did you...how did you figure out what happened?” he asked quietly. “I mean...you...”

“I called in a favor from a friend,” he answered and smiled warmly. “You should meet her at some point. You might like her. She's quiet but shy. She's the one who helped me out before.” Akira looked down at Minato now in slight surprise at that.

“You...had someone else help you too?” he asked, and Minato nodded slowly.

“Yes. Her name is Yamagishi Fuuka. I met her in school one day. She began working with me after I saved her girlfriend. She was...a little hesitant to help at first, but eventually she agreed. I was doing good work after all,” he explained. “She's a good woman though, I'll give her that. I just...wish we all spoke with each other more often is all.” After a few steps he snorted at that and shook his head. “Look at me. Bringing sad shit up after you almost got sold off. I don't mean to kill the mood. I'm sorry.”

“Don't feel...bad. I'm fine. I think.” He cleared his throat and scratched behind one of his ears absently. “Shaky. Scared. Hungry. But...fine. Don't feel bad.” He sighed softly and reached up now to start rubbing at one of his arms absently. “...Can I ask how...how much my price was?”

“Your original price was three million yen, but I offered six million to make sure nobody else could bid on you,” Minato answered calmly. “I didn't actually spend that much though. The money was fake, I had Mitsuru print it all up for me so I could hand it off. Kaneshiro hopefully won't figure it out before you go after him. Otherwise we're fucked,” he said. Akira chuckled softly, and that laugh made Minato smile a little bit as well. It was obvious that Akira needed a bit of humor.

“Strange hearing you swear. Glad you thought the same with Kaneshiro though,” he said. “Even if he hadn't tried to kidnap me I...I think I'd still be going after him anyway. Fuck I'm still shaking.”

“I don't blame you. I think I would be too.” When they turned the corner towards Leblanc the light was still on and the door was propped open just a little bit. “Ah. Sojiro waited for us.” Akira came to a dead stop now and looked Minato with fearful eyes.

“You...told Sojiro?” he asked quietly. Minato's face scrunched up in frustration now at hearing this as he turned to look towards Akira now.

“Of course I told him. You were kidnapped and almost sold off today, Akira, and since he's your guardian he should know about it. I know your parents probably wouldn't care but I feel Sojiro would, and that's what matters. Now come on, standing out here in the cold won't help your nerves any.”Akira hesitated a bit before following Minato off down the street further and into Leblanc.

Before he could react to much there was a thick but heavy blanket thrown over his shoulders and hands that weren't Sojiro's or Minato's in his back pushing him off towards the bar and into one of the stools to sit down. His head turned to see who the stranger was but a tall glass of something that looked like blue soda with lots of fruit pieces suspended in it was promptly shoved in front of him with a loud 'thunk' against the wood.

“Here. Drink up kid,” Sojiro sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His eyes flicked up behind Akira to watch someone settle into one of the booths at the back before turning back to glare at the boy in front of him. Akira almost hesitated but decided that wouldn't be the best idea and instead brought the glass to his lips so he could take a long drink. It burned like a warm soda but had a delicious taste to it that made Akira continue drinking. Behind him Minato snorted and let is head drop to the side a bit.

“Do you really think giving him alcohol is a good idea?” Akira choked on the liquid in his mouth and leaned forward to set the glass back on the counter carefully. His eyes widened in surprise and looked up to Sojiro, who just nodded his head towards the glass again before looking to Minato.

“He was almost sold off today. The kid's earned a drink after that. He's shaking still. If I were him I'd wanna get plastered, but I'm not that irresponsible. Only reason I'm even letting him drink right now is because tomorrow's Sunday. Kid won't have school and have a day to recover if he gets a hangover. Hoping he doesn't, but there's always a chance. Now drink up Akira, you'll need it to sleep tonight I think.” Akira decided he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth (he's pretty sure he heard that saying somewhere) and began drinking again.

It didn't take long for the alcohol to settle into his system and leave him feeling a little bit fuzzy. Two-thirds of the way through the glass he had turned into a giggly mess, three-quarters in he was wobbling in his chair, and by the time the alcohol was gone Akira had his face pushed into the counter so he could have a steady point of contact to keep him from falling out of his seat.

“Y-you...you're pre...pretty,” he giggled drunkenly, reaching a hand out to try and grab at bright orange hair. The owner yanked away from his touch and stuck their tongue out at him in frustration.

“Don't grab at my hair dude! You're drunk, you'll just pull it all out. Didn't think you would have such a low alcohol tolerance.” In his drunken state Akira was just conscious enough to register that whoever this was, they were female, and definitely very pretty. She sneered at him and carefully moved out of reach of his grasp, whining a little bit when he tried to chase after.

“C'mon! It's...it's so _bright_ 'nd...'nd looks so soft 'nd...” He snorted and sputtered at the same time, which turned out to create one very awkward sound that had even Sojiro chuckling, and very nearly tipped over of his seat. One of the stranger's hands settled against his chest to keep him from tumbling down as a sigh slipped out.

“Alright, weirdo. Let's get you to bed. If we let you stay here like this you might fall and bust your head,” she huffed and stood up. Sojiro felt his eyebrows almost disappear into what would have been his hairline fifteen years ago when she wrapped an arm around his chest and turned to Minato. “Hey you. Help me get him up to bed.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he chuckled and moved around to Akira's other side. They both carefully hauled him onto the floor, trying not to break into giggles at the quiet but still excited 'wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee' Akira let loose as his world shifted around him so suddenly, and began carrying him off towards the stairs and up towards his room. When they finally managed to get him tucked into bed the stranger squatted down beside the bed and looked over to Minato.

“...Are you really his senpai? No offense to you dude, but you sure as hell don't strike me as being the _actua_ l Reaper. You're too...quiet.” Minato just smiled at her and squatted down beside her now to talk to her.

“You'd be surprised what the quiet ones can do,” he said and winked at her. “By the way, Juno sends her regards. She also said she wants to meet you and wonders if you'd like to set up a time to meet here.” Instead of Minato being the one left wide-eyed in surprise it was her, bringing a soft chuckle out of him at that and convincing her to reach over and ruffle her hair. Her hand immediately came up to swat at his and keep him from touching her. “She's one of my friends. And she's the one who helped me with my work. Like you're doing for Akira.”

“I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that. Nobody figured out how you were picking targets, but most people figured you had help. I just didn't realize how much you and Akira actually had in common,” she said. “...My name is Futaba, by the way. I'm Sojiro's adopted daughter. And before you ask why I'm telling you this, it's because you're Akira's senpai. He trusts you. And...I owe you a lot of thanks. You saved Akira, if you hadn't bought him then we'd have lost him. How did you figure out who was selling him, anyway?”

“He called me when he went into Shibuya and kept me on the line. I heard a couple of Kaneshiro's lackeys running their mouth, had Juno do a bit of digging, and had her put in a bid for me. You should go ahead and start looking into Kaneshiro Junya. He's the one who tried to sell Akira, and he isn't the first student that's been sold. He'll make a good target for Joker, and he needs to be dealt with before he realizes that the money I used to pay is fake.” Futaba scowled at that and pulled her phone out of her pocket to begin tapping around the screen.

“Right. Thanks for the heads up. I'd planned on asking you who tried to sell him so I could send Joker after him anyway. I'm sure he'll be happy to kill that bastard anyway.” She pulled herself out of her squatting position and turned to look at Akira sprawled out on his bed and sighed. “Someone's gonna have to stay with him until he wakes up. I don't think Dad'll let me stay with him though.”

“I'll stay with him. Don't worry. Just get to bed kid,” Minato said and stood up to plop down on the couch now. The two of them waved goodbye to each other as Futaba scuffled downstairs and out of Leblanc back home. Once she was gone Minato sighed and looked over to Akira, who had rolled over onto his back. “No you don't. No sleeping on your back.” He hurried over to the bed to force Akira back over onto his side and began tugging the blankets around him to hopefully keep him from rolling again. Once he felt certain Akira wouldn't try to move for at least a few minutes he popped downstairs to speak with Sojiro.

“Should have given him water before you hauled him upstairs,” Sojiro muttered. Minato shrugged and settled down into one of the stools now. “I'm surprised Futaba was okay with you and Akira. That's my daughter, the one who carried him upstairs. She doesn't usually act so friendly with people. Then again, she's always on the internet, so maybe they chatted and she knew who he was. Probably too drunk to realize it thought.”

“Oh, he was definitely too drunk. You saw how he tried to grab at her hair. And don't worry, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Akira to make sure he doesn't throw up in his sleep. Go home and get some sleep,” he urged. Sojiro eyed him for a few moments before sighing in defeat and hanging his head.

“The kid seems to trust you well enough, and that's good enough for me. And I want to thank you for getting him back. I don't wanna think about what would have happened if you hadn't found him,” he said. Minato smiled, a tiny bit forced but still mostly genuine, and ran a hand through his hair slowly.

“I don't either. And there's no need to thank me. You got anything here to cure a hangover in the morning?” Sojiro snorted as he dropped his apron down onto a hook behind the counter.

“Shove some coffee down his throat. I'll be back pretty early tomorrow so I'll make him some. Probably won't completely get rid of it, but at least he'll be able to function a little bit,” he said. He almost looked like he planned on saying something, but then stopped and frowned ever so slightly. When he spoke again he fixed Minato with a very obvious questioning look. “How did a famous socialite like you meet Akira though? He lives in a backwater town, after all.”

“I met him on a job,” Minato answered. Sojiro stared at him for a few moments, almost like he was trying to figure out whether he wanted to ask more questions or not, before just sighing softly and shaking his head.

"I'm gonna lock up now. Make sure you keep an eye on the kid tonight."

“Will do,” Minato said and set his head in his hand. The sounds of Sojiro moving around the cafe to lock everything up settled into the background and let Minato doze a bit until Sojiro cleared his throat to get his attention. Minato waved him out of the cafe and waited until Sojiro had turned the lock to flick the light off downstairs and turn to head up with Akira. He didn't think there was too much to worry about, since Akira didn't get blackout drunk like Junpei did sometimes, but better safe than sorry.

 

Kaneshiro cursed his luck and threw a thick stack of money at the far wall of the club.

“Sonofabitch! It's all fake! What the hell is this shit!? I got duped!” he yelled. He shook in anger in his seat and forcefully ground his teeth together. He felt certain he would pop a blood vessel but he was just angry enough that he didn't care. “I'll ruin that rich bastard's life for this shit I swear it!”

“Ummm...Boss? You..you might want to come see this.” Kaneshiro's head snapped to the side in anger as he surged up to his feet. The guard flinched back slightly in fear and cleared his throat. “There's...there's something on the...the wall of the club outside.” Kaneshiro huffed and stalked out of the club and onto the street. When his eyes turned to the wall his throat squeezed shut painfully tight in a strong mixture of fear and rage.

**Lecherous boar, your merchandising of pleasure has condemned you. No longer shall you enslave young souls as cattle for slaughter on the altar of lust. Face the wrath of those lost and be butchered as you squeal your crimes at the foot of your temple.**

Each calling card (and Kaneshiro blanched a little bit because he realized there were so fucking many of them) had the tell-tale joker card tacked underneath them. Same style, same deck, same everything. He'd been targeted by Joker, somegoddamn how, and he didn't know how he would get away with this. Nobody had survived Joker but goddammit Kaneshiro would be the first.

“Get these down. Get these down off the walls now! I'm going inside, and I'm not coming out again!” he yelled and stormed back into the club. His heart beat painfully strong against his chest out of fear, the sweat pooling out of his skin making his hands slick and clammy. If he didn't leave the club for a few days he could get away fine. Joker would lose a target, and he would put a wrench in the guy's plans. Maybe even knock him down a peg or two. If he missed a target then nobody would be afraid of him anymore. Kaneshiro would have effectively killed Joker's career on the spot.

If the universe had pitted itself completely against Akira yesterday, it seemed today was the day for heavy recompense, as Akira managed to slip into the club with extreme ease during the panic of the guards removing his calling cards. In a true twist of irony the thing that took Kaneshiro down was a rag soaked in chloroform, the same shit he'd been knocked out with. The bastard went down like a ton of bricks, and if Akira hadn't thought ahead this was where he would hit a snag in his plan. Fortunately Minato was all for helping out as much as possible with this hit, so he provided a speaker case large enough to fit Kaneshiro and then some to roll him out through the back of the club.

Kaneshiro's death was personal to him now, and there was no way in hell he would be letting Kaneshiro off easy.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I'm super out of groove writing and I really really hate it. This chapter suuuuuuucks TBH and it's so much shorter than the rest of the fic because  
> A. I didn't build that far into Kaneshiro's torture, so I didn't think it fair to give him an entire chapter like I did Lampshade.  
> B. I just couldn't fucking write it. I hate this. I'm mad.  
> Be prepared, chitlens, because next week is something I've been asked for before~

The moment Kaneshiro woke up he jerked straight and let his eyes snap open with a whimper. A pathetic whimper, he knew, but that was the last thing on his mind. Joker had sent him a calling card, he'd barely even made it inside the club before he'd been knocked out and now he was waking up, very obviously tied to a sturdy chair in a warehouse-

With the pretty boy bastard sitting on the table across from him, a knife-sharp grin splitting his face in half. When Joker noticed Kaneshiro was conscious he tapped a button on the camera beside him with a flourish and slid off the table.

“Well hello, Kaneshiro Junya. Nice to see you join the world of the living again, for however brief a time your visit may last,” he teased and walked over to stop in front of Kaneshiro. Very slowly he leaned forward until he was eye-level with the pervert and chuckled softly. “I don't expect you'll be alive much longer.”

“F...fuck you! Fuck you, you fucking twink! Like hell will you get away with this! I bet my boys are looking for me as we speak!” he yelled back. He lurched forward to try and slam his forehead against Joker's, but he'd been through this song and dance recently enough that he remembered the steps. He calmly tilted his head back enough to avoid it and watched the chair Kaneshiro sat in nearly pitch forward and force him to slam into the hard concrete floor. Akira pushed against the back of the chair to make absolutely sure that didn't happen.

“That worked once. Never again,” Joker huffed and straightened up from where he stood. “You know the cops have been trying to pin you for some pretty nasty crimes. But you always seem to somehow slip between the cracks. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had someone working from the inside. I'm right, aren't I?”

“Nah. Those pigs are just too stupid to catch on to what I'm doing,” he chuckled. For a moment he had forgotten who he was talking to, and what they were discussing, and then he found himself clearing his throat uncomfortably. “I-I mean-”

“Too late. So do you wanna tell me how you avoid getting caught by the cops? Peddling your drugs with high schoolers is obviously one way. Nobody would suspect them, after all. Especially not the track stars, or the club leaders that you've roped in with promises of easy jobs and easier money. They were safe. Protected. Invisible. Nobody would ever rat you out because you threatened them into silence. Oh, I'm beginning to sense a theme here recently,” Joker chuckled. “And the only reason these threats work is because you pick the meek ones. The quiet ones, the ones that won't fight back because they're scared of the backlash.”

“They are the easiest ones to control,” Kaneshiro muttered, then wheezed out a laugh. “You can't prove shit, kid. I ain't saying anything. Try all you want, I'm not gonna break.” He'd seen Kamoshida's confession, and when he realized that Kamoshida had forcefully had his dick removed he had been forced to close the video. Honestly the only thing he could really feel right now was fear, but he figured maybe he could intimidate the fucker into letting him go with the promise of letting him live. Joker hadn't ever dealt with someone who was an actual cold-blooded criminal the way he was.

“That's what they all say, swine. But I always get my confessions,” he hummed and turned to step back over by the table. “You know, the smell of burnt flesh is pretty nasty. Makes you feel a little sick, even if you've smelled it so many times before. It's the one thing I can't seem to get used to with my line of work.” This might have made a normal person begin to panic but Kaneshiro had been stabbed, cut all over, and burned more times than he could count. He couldn't really think of anything Joker could do that would cause enough pain to actually get a reaction out of him, honestly.

“I'll give you one chance to confess everything. The drug trafficking, the human trafficking, the extortion, all of it. If you don't...I will make your entire existence as painful as I possibly can for you until you finally spit it all out,” Joker sighed. One hand settled onto the table to keep him steady as he leaned against it, eyes fixed on Kaneshiro with an icy gaze that seemed so out of place on such a young man. The world had obviously done them dirty and this was their way of getting back at it. Kaneshiro couldn't say he didn't see a bit of himself in the kid.

“I told you. I ain't saying shit to you, punk,” he huffed. Joker calmly licked across the front of his teeth and fished his trusty knife out from his left boot. He slowly strolled back over towards Kaneshiro, flipping the dagger with ease, before tossing it up a bit further then before. When the blade dropped down it dug into the meat of Kaneshiro's thigh and buried itself halfway in the muscle of his leg. Joker expected a scream; he earned a mild grunt of discomfort instead. “You think that hurts? I've been through worse. Just try to break me.”

“Do you really want me to do that? I can absolutely do that, if it's what you want,” Joker purred. “I said you'd squeal your crimes, and I know exactly how I'll do it. Last chance to confess before I get to work on you, Kaneshiro.” In response Kaneshiro made a sound in the back of his throat, then spat at Joker's face. He calmly dodged to the side to avoid the mess and fixed Kaneshiro with a glare that would make plants wilt away.

Jeker fell quiet, obviously in thought over what he would say to this bastard. Just seeing Kaneshiro was nearly enough to send him into a full-blown panic attack. He'd gone after plenty of people who made the same choices as Kaneshiro, but he'd never targeted someone who had actually affected him personally like this. The fear of nearly being sold off still lingered in his bones.

“How can you live with yourself knowing that you've sold off innocent students? Knowing that you've destroyed entire families and left parents heartbroken over never seeing their children again? How many innocent children you've extorted into helping you peddle your drugs?” he spat. His right fist curled and uncurled in a steady rhythm to keep himself from snapping and saying something he would regret later on.

“I ain't saying shit. I didn't do shit. You can't get me to confess to shit,” Kaneshiro chuckled.

“How many have you sold off, you pig? I want an answer out of you,” Joker said. He ripped the blade out of Kaneshiro's thigh quickly and flicked the excess blood off the blade. “I don't care how long it takes. I'll get it out of you if I have to cut off every one of your fingers and toes to get it.” Kanehsiro began laughing openly now, a crazed glint in his eyes that Joker had sen plenty of times in his victims. They think they can tough it out and avoid confessing but nobody ever could. Kaneshiro would be no different.

“Try all you want, pretty boy. You're not gonna get anything outta me. I already told you that. Gimme your worst, I dare you,” he growled. He leaned back straight in the chair with a newfound air of confidence and smirked at Joker to taunt him further. Joker scoffed at that and turned to walk back over towards the table again. He strolled around behind it and leaned down to scoop something up from the floor and held it out for Kaneshiro to see.

“Mmmmm. I figured something like this might happen. But that's okay. Just means we have to take drastic measures. Remember when I said I couldn't ever seem to get used to the smell of burnt flesh? Well...you're about to experience that first hand.” Joker grinned as fear finally planted itself firmly on Kaneshiro's face at the sight of a metal rod clutched firmly in his grip, a bright red flaring at the tip. He wondered why the warehouse they were in felt so stifling, and now he understood why. When Joker walked back over to him he began to pull against the ropes tying him down to the chair and making pitiful whining noises.

“What the fuck!? You wouldn't!” he yelled loudly, hoping maybe someone, anyone nearby would be able to hear him screaming his head off like this. “You fucking sicko!”

“You think I've never been called that before? News flash, asshole. I've been called a lot worse than just a sicko,” Akira chuckled and held the end of the poker just a few centimeters away from Kaneshiro's nose. “So what should I burn first? Your cheek to ruin your pretty face? Your eyes to blind you? Your tongue to mute you? Nah...not your tongue. If I do that you can't confess your crimes.”

“Hurt me you sonofabitch, see...see if I care! I've been burned before!” Kaneshiro swallowed thickly in fear and embarrassment and anger all at once, the tension in his jaw meant to hide those emotions from both Joker and the camera. In response Joker smiled lazily and without flinching or hesitating pressed the end of the poker right up against the meat of his cheek. The scream that Kaneshiro let loose sounded unholy and inhuman in its pitch, almost like a banshee wailing in the night. When Joker peeled the poker away he watched the red mark already beginning to well and raise up in anger.

“I'll keep going, you know.” The tip had already begun to cool but Akira paid it no mind. It simply meant he would have to keep the metal to Kaneshiro's skin longer. “Spill it.” Kanehsiro sucked in a huge lungful and swallowed down bile.

“Not sayin' shit. Can't get away with this for-FUCK!” The metal pressed against his cheek again in a slightly different spot now, right over his cheekbone, and pressed in hard. The chair skid across the floor as he tried jerking against the ropes again and tried to free himself. His eyes burned with barely restrained tears as his cheek seared even more with pain. Joker pulled away to walk around behind the table again and drop the poker into whatever heat source he has to bring the metal back to life again.

“How long do you think you can hold out Kaneshiro? Hmm? I'll brand you like the pig you are. When they find your body they'll find that mark on you. I know what you've done, you sick bastard! Now admit to it!” Joker yelled from behind the camera.

“Fuck you, you fucking twink! You think you can get me to confess to that shit? Bring it!” Kaneshiro spat. Joker began laughing now, hand settling onto his stomach to hold it as he doubled forward to brace himself on the table. The laughter continued for a few minutes before he finally managed to calm himself down enough to straighten up and sighed softly.

“Oh, you sound like Kamoshida. Did you watch his confession? Did you cringe when you saw me cut his dick off? He was a pervert, just like you are. Maybe I should do the same thing to you? How many girls have you taken against their will, Kaneshiro?” he said and leaned forward until he was just at the edge of the camera's line of sight. The curls of his hair clipped into view as he spoke. “If you speak now, I may give you a quick death if you do~ I always give my victims an out.”

“Not doing it. Can't make me.” His whole body shook as he took a calming breath, hands balling up and gripping the arm of the chair and feet jerking against the legs of the chair to hopefully break them off somehow. “You can burn every part of my body and I'll never tell.”

“Don't tempt me Kaneshiro, I have plenty of gasoline and a lighter. I'm willing to torch your ass,” Joker said with deadly calm. To prove his point he reached into his breast pocket of his jacket to pull out a lighter and flick the lid open to strike it, waving the flame back and forth in a sort of taunt. He flicked the lid back down and straightened himself up from the table. “Do you really want to test me?”

“Stupid fucking kid,” Kaneshiro said. That was enough for Joker to drop his head down and let out an audible sigh as he grabbed the poker again. “How can you call me sick? I bet you get off on torturing your victims!”

“I don't get off on it actually,” Joker explained as he strolled back over again to press the poker into Kaneshiro's face yet again. “Hearing the screams of my victims does nothing more than fill me with satisfaction that I'm doing my job. Making dirty pigs like you squeal fills me with _so much fucking satisfaction_.” The poker pressed down against his cheek again, Kaneshiro's scream making his ears ring a bit in pain. “I love knowing that I can make people pay for the things they've done to others. Make them pay for what they've done and make sure the world knows what kind of person they really are. Though I suppose there isn't much for you to hide. Everyone around you knows what kind of person you are.” The poker pushed against Kaneshiro's skin yet again and stayed there as the heat had dissipated enough that the metal had turned to a soft orange now. Not enough to seriously mar anymore, but enough to get the point across.

“You stupid...sonofabitch. Fuck this smells awful.” Kaneshiro watched Joker slide away from him again to drop the metal rod down and climb up onto the table to sit and watch him. “Seriously, how can you do this? This is..this is sick. Torturing people until they confess...this is pretty fucked up. You sure you don't get off on this?” Joker chuckled and leaned forward with his arms braced on his thighs and gave him a surprisingly heartwarming smile.

“I”m quite positive. I don't get off on torturing people like this. I prefer a different kind of torture for the bedroom,” he answered with a purr in his voice. When Crow watched this later (and Joker knew he would) he hoped the prissy little bastard got hard and had to rub one out at the sound of his voice and the implication in his words. “I only hurt my lovers as much as I'm allowed to. I listen when I've been told no. Unlike you, of course.”

“What are you talking about? I haven't done anything like that you know,” Kaneshiro huffed. Joker's heart soared at just how stubborn this bastard was. It reminded him of Kamoshida, how he had caved after losing a nipple and very clear threats to the safety of the other one. It also made him suddenly remember something else; someone had paid Kamoshida to break Ryuji's leg. He'd completely forgotten about it until now, the thrill and excitement at having some weird relationship with Crow making that particular confession disappear into the back of his mind. He made a mental note (he would remember this time, he swore it, it was for Ryuyu after all) that he would get Alibaba to have a look around and see if they could find anything.

Kaneshiro watched Joker's face flit through a host of emotions rapidly like someone changing masks before a performance to find the one that suited them best before settling back onto that sadistic smirk that he carried so well in these situations. He clapped his hands on the table and flashed a bright grin at Kaneshiro, making him jump suddenly in surprise, before sliding off the table and walking back over to him. He fished his knife back out again and let a thumb run across the blade. He expected it to slice through his gloves easily; instead it barely seemed to cause any damage. He would need to either sharpen it or get a new one soon, unfortunately.

“Sorry to burst your bubble. But I know exactly what you did, you sick bastard,” he said. He ran the blade across Kaneshiro's cheek, watching a thin line of red well up and begin dribbling down his skin, before setting the flat of the blade under Kaneshiro's chin and using it to gently push his head up. Their eyes met, and the fire that burned behind Joker's mask spoke of rage and pain. “I have proof.”

“Proof? Bullshit. You can't prove shit kid.” Joker clicked his tongue and stabbed his knife into Kaneshiro's shoulder for him to hold before stepping back to collect a small briefcase off the floor. He flicked the latches open and pulled out a thick stack of papers to begin rifling through them.

“Two females, purchased two months ago to the tune of five hundred thousand yen. One female, purchased a year ago at the cost of three hundred thousand. One male, one female, purchased six months ago for two hundred and seventy-five thousand. Two males, two females, sold last month for seven hundred thousand. Should I continue on, Kaneshiro?” he asked, waving the stack in front of his face. “I have transcripts of every sale and every transaction you've made for the past year and a half. All of these people have been sold off because you're a money hungry shitstain on society.” Kaneshiro scoffed at him and tried to keep his voice level as he spoke.

“You can't prove those are mine.”

“The account where the money was deposited is under one of your known aliases. There are emails setting up sale dates, drop spots, working out deals for multiple purchases. I have recordings of you berating a high school student for nearly getting caught by the cops with a pound of coke on them, of you threatening to murder another for losing a wad of cash that you sent for a deal. Do you want me to play those? So you can hear yourself talking again? Or is this enough to finally get you to admit to your wrongdoings?”

Kaneshiro's breathing began stuttering as the words leaving Joker's mouth finally hit him in the face. Every single thing that Joker had said was true. The evidence was staring him in the face. The papers showed every little thing he had done, all printed out nice and straight in black ink. His cheek burned every time his face shifted around and sent a fresh shot of pain down his spine. He could confess now, and give himself an out. Or he could keep denying everything in the hopes that he could still somehow find some way to get out of this mess.

“As my dear Crow would say...evidence is just as important as a confession,” Joker chuckled. “So hurry up and confess your crimes, Kaneshiro. I'm tired of listening to you fight me.” He stared Kaneshiro down in the hopes that it would be enough to intimidate the bastard into cracking. Honestly if Joker had been in his position even he probably would have given in by now.

“...Fine. I...I've been selling people for years. It was easy money for easy victims. Nobody could figure out it was me. I covered my tracks too well to keep the fucking cops off me. Mostly deal in women since they fetch a higher price. The drugs came later. High school kids are fucking stupid and fucking easy to manipulate. I threaten to tell their principals if they fuck up, they don't fuck up. They fuck up, I sell them off to make up for the loss. Simple as that. My family was poor as hell, I couldn't fucking take it! This world is eat or be eaten, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna be someone else's dinner! Whatever it took to hit the top and keep myself afloat I did it. You gotta understand! You can't blame me!” Joker scoffed at him and went to finally pull his knife out of Kaneshiro's shoulder. “Ouch! Fuck, that hurt!”

“Good. I wish I could find the people you've sold off but I know I can't. Maybe your death will help trigger some domino effect, but I doubt it will. You're a disgusting pig, a disgrace to human beings, and goddamn you deserve to be put in your place. You sell humans off like they're cattle to slaughter, with your fucking brand on them. Like the one I left on you.” Joker smiled as he noticed the skin already looked red and angry from the torture. Blood trickled down the front of Kaneshiro's suit and stained the material on its way. His eyes were red from barely restrained tears and his voice cracked from the strain of screaming. He looked like he was on his last legs finally.

“Come on. I did what I had to. If I didn't...I'd be just like my shitty parents. I wouldn't even be able to support myself! So what if I stepped on some weaker people in the process...they were just a drain on resources! They're out of the way now!” he argued. This was nothing more than a last ditch effort to hopefully find some sort of sympathy from Joker for his actions. Remorse seemed to be lost on Kaneshiro.

“You could have found another way. Like normal people. There was no need to sell people off to keep yourself in the lap of luxury. There was no need to push your drugs either. Now...you've confessed your crimes. I'll give you your easy death. But first...why don't I give you a look at your brand, hmm?” He twirled his knife around easily as he slid behind Kaneshiro, then brought it up for the light to reflect on it. Once he had the angle correct he grinned at the way Kaneshiro's face shifted from confusion to realization to anger in the span of a few brief seconds. Joker then chuckled quietly and leaned in until his lips touched Kaneshiro's ear.

“You tried to sell the wrong person, fuckwad. If you hadn't picked me up I would have let you off easy.”

Kaneshiro's mouth opened immediately to scream at Joker but the blade slid across his throat to slice it open. It took a bit more force than Joker would have liked to tear through the skin and shred the voice box to keep Kaneshiro from screaming, but the job was done and he was currently choking on his own blood now. He dropped the blade down onto the floor, making a mental note to replace it when he got the chance, and slowly sauntered back over to lean across the table in front of the camera. He winked at the camera and blew a soft kiss to it before waving a few of his fingers slowly.

“I look forward to your reply, darling~”

 

When Akechi rolled out of bed his eyes stayed glued together until he forcefully pried them apart. He didn't remember dozing off but apparently he had; the book he had been reading through was crumpled up underneath him and would need to either be pressed out to salvage it or tossed out completely so he could get a new copy. The last thing he remembered was reading through some shoddily-written smut that he felt confident he could have written much better in the span of about to hours and then waking up in his bed to his alarm going off on his phone.

No...that wasn't his alarm. That was his ringtone. Someone was actually calling him. In a state of sleep-addled confusion he leaned over and pawed at it until he managed to pull it to him and answered the call with a very groggy “Hello?”

“Akechi, we need you to come down to Kaneshiro's cover club. Don't ask questions, just get down here now.” Before he could open his mouth the call ended and Akechi's arm dropped down into the comforter beside him. Confusion was the foremost thing he felt at the current moment; what could have happened at the club? They had been trying to pin him down for just about ever crime in the book for years, so what could have happened to-

The calling card. He had completely forgotten about the calling card Joker had left the day before. The news had covered it almost as soon as it had been called in and reported on Kaneshiro's kidnapping as well. He'd very nearly forgotten about that and scrambled out of bed to make an attempt at appearing put together for any camera crews that might be on the scene waiting to ambush him for an impromptu interview that he wouldn't be able to charm his way out of. Realizing almost as soon as he had tamed his hair that breakfast was out of the option he promised himself a plate of curry from Leblanc (hopefully Akira would be working that day and would be able to make it for him, he never seemed to put too much spice into it) and bolted out of his apartment towards the club.

His phone chimed from his pocket with a message. A quick glance told him it was from Akira.

_Hope you're free today~ I've got some tension that I'm wanting to get rid of, and you seem to be the perfect remedy._

_Was that really the best pickup line you could think of? That was atrocious, Kurusu._

_Yeah, well, I wanted to try and be classy instead of saying “Hey I wanna fuck today.” Can't a guy try to seduce you?_

_You're more than welcome to, but I would appreciate you putting a little more effort into it. I'm not as easy as you seem to think I am._

_I never said you were easy. You just obviously know what you like. And fine, if you want me to put more effort into it then I'll buy some candles and cook you dinner. That's seduction enough right?_

Akechi stared at the words on his screen for what felt like an eternity, trying to decide how best to respond to this. Akira was obviously just trying to tease him and make a joke, but Akechi couldn't help but feel the suggestion was a touch too romantic for his liking. The feelings he carried for Akira weren't meant to be anything more than a stupid physical attraction; that was what he had been telling himself for the better part of two years now. He blamed the twisting in his gut at the suggestion of a candlelit dinner him feeling like considering the offer meant he was betraying Ryuji instead of excitement at the possibility.

Before he could formulate a proper response to Akira another message came through.

_Yikes. I made you uncomfortable didn't I? Sorry. I was trying to be funny_

_No. You just caught me off guard, is all. I never pegged you as the romantic type._

_Please. I can romance my ass off if I wanted to. Maybe one day I'll show you?_

_Shouldn't you save that for someone you're actually interested in?_

Akira fell silent after that, and a few moments later Akechi realized they had just made it to his stop. He hopped off as quickly as he could before hurrying off to the back alley where the club was located. The scent from a nearby diner nearly made him consider stopping and getting a bite to eat but he would be late and keep his superiors waiting, and that would look bad for him.

He never knew what to expect from Joker's drop-offs, because he never watched the videos the night they were published. Every time he found a dump scene it was a surprise to him, and this time was no different. Joker had taken a huge risk dumping the body off here, even if hardly anybody walked this alley except to come here. The walk here must have been nerve wracking for him, which would explain his comment to Akechi earlier. Kaneshiro also wasn't a small guy, meaning Joker could have strained something carrying the corpse as well.

Kaneshiro had been propped up against the wall outside of the club, head intentionally turned to the side to show off the burn on the side of his face. Handcuffed to his left wrist (with a pair Akechi felt certain Joker had filched off of a police officer within the past week or so; he remembered a few of them complaining their handcuffs had gone missing out of nowhere) was a nondescript locked suitcase with a memo attached to it. Akechi stepped close enough to squat down and be able to read it.

_The combination is the day that bitchy blogger was murdered by Crow. All the evidence you would have needed to convict Kaneshiro is locked inside. Have fun, Akechi~_

The detective ground his teeth together gently at that and nearly ripped the memo off to crumple it and toss it aside. It was evidence however, meaning it wasn't to be tampered with or destroyed. Instead he thumbed the combination into the lock and watched it pop open. Inside were stacks of papers, organized neatly by cost, 'product' sold, and date. A few CD's sat on top, likely containing recordings of Kaneshiro doing business or finalizing contracts. He latched the suitcase back and instead turned his attention to Kaneshiro's face.

Most of the burns had been inflicted while he was still alive, but a few had obviously been caused postmortem. The skin had curled near the edges and almost made it impossible to figure out what it was meant to be, but after staring for a few seconds Akechi understood what the hell he was looking at. Joker had burned the word 'meat' into Kaneshiro's face, where everyone would be able to see it. The humiliation would follow Kaneshiro into the afterlife. Though Akechi had to ask himself...why would Joker leave this branded into his skin? For a few moments he sat there pondering the question before his phone chimed again in his pocket. He grumbled to himself and fished it out to see who had messaged him.

_I gave him that stupid brand because he sees people as nothing more than meat to sell off. He's the same way, right? He screamed a lot._

Akechi scoffed and slid his phone back into his pocket. Of course Akira would text him that. He must be nearby watching, and when Akechi swept his gaze down the ends of the alleyway he saw a familiar head of black curls bobbing off down the street. He sighed softly and turned his attention to his superior, who had begun barking orders to everyone else around them.

Akira slid against the wall of the building he had propped himself against, head coming down to rest in his hands, phone painfully bright in his lap, one message in his draft taunting him the longer he stared at it. Panic bubbled up in him the same way dread settled into his stomach. He had come so close, one more tap of his thumb and it would have sent. Akechi would have known and everything would have fallen down around him in an instant.

He began forcing himself to take slow breaths, experience gained over the years helping him understand how to combat panic attacks like this. He focused on the threads of his jeans, the weave of his shoelaces, the ridges and bumps in the concrete underneath him. Eventually he managed to find himself planted firmly back in his body and moved his hands slowly from pulling his hair almost out of his head to his phone to slowly go through the motions of deleting the draft. Akechi...Akechi didn't need to know about this. He would be fine.

His thumb hovered over the delete button for a painfully long time before thumbing out of his messages and shoving his phone back into his pocket. Once he had finally collected himself enough he stood up slowly and made his way down the streets back towards Leblanc. His phone felt like a ton of bricks in his pocket.

The draft had one simple phrase, short and sweet and to the point and terrifyingly hard to say, even if he wanted nothing more than to finally get it off his chest.

_I love you._


	17. Joker's Origin Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had people ask for this. It's a little shorter than Akechi's, but I think it works better shorter, TBH. I'm starting to realize that maaaaaaaaaaybe 8K chapters isn't the best idea LMFAO. This is the first time you really honestly see that Akira doesn't process things like a normal person should, and that's gonna come into play a _lot_ over the next few chapters I think. Have fun, and I hope this is still entertaining to the like, ten people still reading this beast.

For as long as Akira could really remember, he'd felt...something...was off about him. Some sort of feeling that crawled underneath his skin and settled itself directly over his heart. It sometimes felt like he was literally itching from it, his skin on his arms red and raw from scratching it so much. He knew it was all in his brain but that didn't stop him from reacting like it was real. It took him until he was fourteen to finally understand what the hell this feeling was.

Why he had carried it for so long he didn't know. There was nothing to indicate he should have had it; his parents were cold but still showered him with praise and gifts and the occasional declaration of love. He lived a mostly quiet life with plenty of friends that spoke to him and invited him out with them on a regular basis. A part of him wondered if maybe it was something in his family's past that had skipped a generation or two and then settled itself firmly in he back of Akira's mind.

It took him until he was fourteen years old to understand what that feeling was, and instead of being scared of it he embraced it like an old friend. Rumors had spread around his junior high of a third year high school student drugging other student's drinks and raping them while they were out of it. Against what he knew was his better judgment Akira decided to take matters into his own hands and put a stop to the bastard before he hurt any more people.

He knew where the third year hung out the most, knew how to corner him in a back alley and avoid being discovered. A part of him wondered if maybe he was taking things too far but the thought of ending this bastard's life sent a wonderful thrill through him that, much to his surprise, seemed to deal with that stupid itch of his for a bit. Over and over he told himself 'this can't be right' and tried to find literally any other excuse, any other explanation, but none came up. A part of him felt disgusted with himself and wanted nothing to do with that feeling, but a much larger part of him screamed to finally get some goddamn peace and quiet from it.

So Akira waited until a frigid Saturday evening in the beginning of January to do it. His nerves were jumping everywhere and deathly calm at the same time, creating an underlying feeling of nausea in the pit of his gut. Was this really the right decision, or was he making the stupidest mistake of his life? The guy was scum, yeah, no doubt about it, but he was still another person. Could Akira really kill him? The answer as it turned out was a resounding yes, as hedidn't even realize he was moving until a dead body lay sprawled out at his feet, blood steadily pooling out around him. The switchblade in his hand fell down with a wet 'plop' as Akira began to slowly pedal backwards.

That itch of his had disappeared, his body and mind finally letting himself have a bit of rest.

The fear he felt now was over the realization that he would absolutely, without question, be caught for murder.

He could try to claim self-defense but nobody was around to substantiate that and he didn't have any wounds on him to boot. The knife had his fingerprints (stupid, he should have known to wear gloves) and the amount of blood seeping into his shoes was alarming. The alley he stood in didn't see much traffic but eventually someone would come by on a late night stroll or trying to take a shortcut to the street on the other side and he would be caught. He could try to run but somebody would see the blood on his feet and question him and then everything would fall apart. The prospect of getting thrown in jail terrified him and made him realize just how fucking stupid this all had been.

But hey. That itch was gone finally. Would it come back again when he was in jail? Or was this enough for it?

His train of though derailed at the sound of footsteps on his right. He nearly gave himself whiplash turning his head so quickly to see who was coming down the alleyway and if he had any chance of getting out of this unscathed and-

Akira's breath caught in his throat. _Oh._

The stranger at the end of the alley was somehow breathtaking, like moonlight come to life. Premature silver streaked through his hair, a prominent patch of it just above his left eye were his hair had been swept up to cover his right. Upon closer examination he realized that the stranger (kid, he realized, they were barely taller than he was) wore a soft blue yukata that...was folded the wrong way. It took a moment for Akira to understand, but when he did he somehow managed to hold back his laughter. What kind of person thought to dress as the dead?

Suddenly Akira found himself face to face with this stranger, dark blue eyes piercing into his soul and reading him for everything he was worth. His mouth flapped uselessly a few times before he finally managed to find his voice.

“Ummm...I was just...he tried to...”

“Calm down and shut up. Did you touch him at all?” the stranger snapped. Akira's eyes darted around for a moment as he tried to remember whether or not he had.

“...No. I mean maybe? I'm not sure,” he finally answered. The waver in his voice made him cringe and take a step backwards. “I'm pretty sure I-”

“Don't step out of the blood yet idiot, you'll leave more footprints.” Akira jerked a bit in surprise and marveled at just how calm this person seemed. Akira almost thought that maybe he knew them from somewhere, but the shock of murdering a person and the fear of potentially getting caught kept his brain from working at full capacity. “Are you _absolutely sure_ you didn't touch him?”

“Not tonight, I...we go to the same school though and I may have bumped into him a few times-”

“Good enough. Now very very carefully step out of your shoes and onto the concrete. Don't get any blood in your socks.” He did as he was told, surprised at just how fucking calm they seemed to be guiding him through the motions, cleaning up his mess and hiding any evidence that might get him caught. He spent the better part of an hour in that alleyway covering his ass, and when all was set and done he had a bit of blood on him but nothing too alarming.

“I...why did you...”

“Come with me. You need a place to stay tonight. You can't go home like this.” A hand latched onto Akira's wrist and began pulling him along with frightening strength. He stumbled along, shoes gripped in his arms and knife tucked into his pocket, and tried to formulate some sort of protest. Nothing seemed like a good enough excuse honestly. The first thing he wanted to know was why this kid was helping him out. The second thing he wanted to know what was going through his mind to make him decide to pick his outfit for the night, but that answer would probably come later.

The apartment he found himself standing in wasn't exactly lavish, but it also wasn't as bare as his own room. Knick knacks covered the living room's shelves and tables, strange little things that Akira couldn't figure out what they were meant to be. Everything looked just a little bit disheveled like the occupant couldn't really stand to see things too clean. Akira could respect that; his mother couldn't. He kept his feet planted firmly on the hardwood floor leading inside until the kid walked over to him with a plastic bag and held it out.

“Drop everything in here. Shoes, knife, clothes, all of it. I'll get rid of it for you,” he said. Again Akira found himself doing as he was told, only hesitating when he went to remove his pants. There had been a little bit of blood that seeped into the cuffs at the bottom, and he knew he needed to get out of them so they could be disposed of, but he was about to find himself standing in nothing but his boxers in front of a kid who was admittedly cute. A blue eyebrow raised up in question before blue eyes rolled in frustration. “Just take your damn pants off. It wouldn't be the first time I've had someone almost naked in front of me.” The answer didn't serve to help Akria's anxiety much but it was enough for him to finally give in and shuck his jeans off to throw in the bag. “I'll bring you some clothes to change into. We look pretty close to the same size.” Akira watched him tie the bag off easily and walk away further into the apartment and back towards a hallway he could just barely make out in the back corner of the room.

For the first time in a long time he didn't have that feeling underneath his skin that made everything just that little bit more uncomfortable, and it felt amazing. He knew he should feel disgusted with himself about what he had done considering he had killed another person but he couldn't. The pervert had deserved it. What he had been dong was wrong on so many goddamn levels but he couldn't really honestly bring himself to feel guilty about it. He had done the world a favor by getting rid of the guy when he had.

When the kid came back he shoved a pile of clothes into Akira's chest and swept his hair up out of his eye for the briefest of moments before it fell back down again.

“Shower's down that hall on the left, second door. Don't go into any of the other doors. Got it?” Akira nodded so hard he felt his head ache just a little bit and darted off down the hallway where he was directed and into the bathroom without a word. He figured the kid just didn't want him disturbing the parents.

The warm water felt like heaven on his skin honestly. He'd taken a shower before heading out to kill the guy (how could he think about that so calmly, fucking hell) but he still felt like he'd picked up some grime along the way. The blood that stained his ankles also didn't help. Maybe he should have worn boots instead of sneakers, even if they were cheap and easily replaced. His mother would probably kill him for losing a pair of shoes but he would deal with that later.

When he stepped out of the bathroom after drying his hair and dressing he slipped quietly back into the living room to see the kid sprawled out on the couch in more normal clothes with a pair of headphones on over his ears. His eyes flickered up when Akira stepped into his field of vision and caused him to tug his left headphone off of his ear.

“Feel any better now?” he asked. Akira fidgeted a little bit and tugged on the hem of the shirt he wore.

“A little bit. The shower helped, I-”

“I didn't mean that. I meant the itch,” he snapped, and Akira's eyes widened a bit in surprise. “Don't act surprised. I could tell as soon as I looked at you. What did that kid do to deserve getting killed?”

“...Drugging and raping girls. He would sneak into clubs and drag them off and I couldn't...it pissed me off. I didn't...I couldn't...” The kid popped his other earphone off, hauled himself up to his feet, and shoved a hand in his pocket.

“Right. Well, I'm glad you feel better now. I can already tell you this won't be a one time thing, however. So I'll be teaching you how to avoid getting caught, how to pick your targets, things like that,” he explained. Before Akira could stop himself he began laughing softly in disbelief.

“What? The hell could a kid teach me about _killing people_?” he asked. This seemed to strike a cord with the kid, as he immediately straightened up-

And Akira realized that no, the kid wasn't barely taller than him. This guy was at least two inches taller, maybe three, and the slouch in his back had been the only thing making him look so short. Akira immediately bit down on his tongue in embarrassment as the stranger spoke.

“I'm twenty-four, dumbass, and I'd hope I would know about killing people. I did it for almost an entire year as Reaper,” he snapped. Akira stepped backwards, shock evident all across his face and his body. “Yes. I was Reaper all those years ago. So I know all about not getting caught.”

“I...I call bullshit. No way in hell are you Reaper,” Akira said. “Why would you like about something like that? Why the hell would you say that? And why the hell would you help me out?”

“Because I don't want to see you in jail, dumbass. You're just a kid, it's not fair to you. And besides...maybe you could do some good in the world. Oh. I'm Arisato Minato, by the way. I figure you should know my name if I'm going to be teaching you,” he explained. When Akira's jaw dropped he ignored it and turned towards his kitchen instead. “Do you want something to eat? You're probably hungry.”

“...You're the guy my parents say isn't worthy,” Akira muttered quietly. Minato slowly pivoted towards him, a look on his face that chilled the poor boy to the bone, and exhaled slowly through his nose. “Ummm...they say you aren't good enough for us. To hang out with us or be seen with us. They say you wouldn't be a good influence on me.” At that Minato chuckled and padded towards his kitchen with every intention of making something light for...

“I just realized I don't know your name kid,” Minato muttered absently. “Mind sharing that with me? I am gonna be giving you an alibi for the night, it would help if I knew who I was covering for.” He didn't get an answer to his question, not that he really expected one, for a good few minutes, and when he finally did he also admitted that he wasn't really all that surprised.

“Kurusu Akira,” he answered quietly. Minato snorted this time and continued to dig around in his kitchen for the things he needed. He didn't expect Akira to get sick after what he did, but there was always a chance, so having something light on his stomach would be a good idea. “I...I'll be caught. I just know it. I killed somebody and they'll figure out it was me and-”

“They won't figure out it was you,” Minato said firmly. “We covered your tracks, and I'm giving you an airtight alibi for the night. You were with me helping me prepare for my next job, which they don't need to know about because it's private contract work. It doesn't matter if they don't think I'm 'worthy' of your family, or whatever the fuck those arrogant pricks think. Which, I'm not sure if you know, they are.” A dry chuckle reached his ears from the living room, and Minato felt a bit of pride with himself for getting Akira to laugh in the face of what he'd done.

“Oh believe me, I know they're arrogant pricks. Did you know I'm not allowed to have friends at school unless their parents are influential people or they're rich? Do you know how many people in my junior high actually fit those restrictions? Very very few. I have three friends, and one of them is on thin ice. His parents are going through an employment change right now,” Akira sighed and let himself slide into one of the chairs in Minato's kitchen. “Ugh...am I supposed to feel sick right now...? I'm scared...”

“Well do you feel sick because you still think you might get caught, or do you feel sick because you killed another human being? Because that's gonna determine the answer I give you,” Minato explained. The silence in the kitchen stretched on as Akira worked through his mental status to decide which one was true. It didn't take him long to figure it out.

“...Sick because I might get caught. That fucker deserved it, what he was doing was wrong, but I should have thought things through. I mean, I could still get caught, even after the cleanup we did. If we missed one little thing your alibi won't mean anything and then you'll get thrown in jail with me,” Akira said. Minato clicked his tongue and turned to lean against his counter while giving Akira that deathly calm expression he seemed so practiced in wearing.

“Then yeah. That's normal. You've got that look in your eyes now, the one that says the beast's been fed and a part of you can't believe you did that. It'll get hungry again soon enough, there's no avoiding that, so I'll be teaching you everything I know and then some. You're a good kid who got a fucked up hand, but you're being given the opportunity to pitch some cards and fix it. With a little guidance, of course,” he said with a wry smile, Akira staring at him with a thousand little emotions flitting across his face and letting Minato read him like the best novel ever.

“Are you really Reaper? I still can't believe that. How did you...?” Minato shrugged and turned back to continue making whatever he had decided to feed Akira, he couldn't quite tell. He thought maybe he could smell cheese, however.

“First lesson. A magician never reveals his secrets. Which means you don't tell anyone about what you've done, and once you've settled into your skin, who you've become. That puts other people at risk and sticks them in a compromising position if they ever find out,” Minato explained. “You'll come to my apartment at least once every few days to practice and find what suits you best. I've got plenty of weapons still left around, even if I don't use them. I'm sure one of them will be right for you.” Akira nodded absently, brain running a mile a minute trying to understand everything that was going on around him.

“How the hell are you so calm about this? You're talking about teaching me how to murder people like you're offering to help me study for high school entrance exams. Shouldn't you be trying to convince me not to go down this road like you did?” he asked. Minato turned around again to face Akira and sighed.

“There's a lot of fucked up people in the world. I wish it weren't true but there is. I've retired, meaning I can't do anything about them. But you...you're young. Just getting started. I wasn't lying when I said I thought maybe you could do some good in the world. It's needed,” he explained. Akira seemed to be thinking about something as his face scrunched up just the tiniest bit before relaxing.

“You think I can do some good?” he asked quietly and looked over to Minato for reassurances. When Minato nodded he took a deep slow breath and stared down at his hands. “You know normal people would be puking right now at the realization they killed another person.”

“Yeah. But we aren't normal are we, Akira?” Minato pointed out, and Akira felt the corners of his lips pull up into a bit of a smirk.

“No. We aren't. And that's fine.”

 

The next day, after Akira had gone home and got the yelling of a lifetime, he found himself standing back in Minato's living room. Somehow his parents had changed their minds and decided that maybe Minato wasn't such a bad influence, after all. When Akira had told him this Minato had snorted and said “Oh if only they knew the things I've done in my life.”

After lunch and spending a bit of time chatting Minato pulled all sorts of faux weapons out from every nook and cranny of his apartment to shove into Akira's hands and told him to see which one felt best for him.

“Why? I mean, couldn't I just get away with using anything I can get?” Akira asked the first day, when he'd been handed a rather sizable two-handed sword. Minato shook his head from side to side and let his arms cross in front of him.

“No. You need to find what's easiest for you to use. If it's easy for you to use, then it's easy for you to kill with. It'll be like a second part of you, en extension of you. You'll run less of a risk of getting caught and be able to instill fear in people's hearts the second they see it,” Minato explained. When he watched Akira attempt to swing the sword and fall flat onto his ass, Minato chuckled softly with a hand up over his mouth to hide his smile. “That was just to see you fail. I knew that was too much.”

“What the hell!” Akira whined and picked himself up to his feet. “Why would you do that?”

“Look I don't get much enjoyment out of my life anymore, seeing you fuck up and fall is gonna be the highlight of my goddamn day for a while,” he said and tossed Akira a small shortsword. “There. Try that. Should feel better in your hands.” Akira shifted the blade around to get better acquainted with the weight and balance of it, appreciating the weight of it in his hands. It felt a touch too long for him however, and when he began swinging it to see how it handled he almost managed to slice his other hand up. Embarrassment settled onto his face and he very carefully set the shortsword down.

“I don't think that will work,” he muttered.

“Hey now, don't think like that. You're not gonna be an expert the first time you pick up a weapon. You need practice to see if it really works for you,” Minato pointed out and strutted over to scoop the sword up easily. “Give it about a week. I know you can't practice at home so come over here when you can and do what you can. If you still feel like it won't be right we can switch to something else.”

“Well that...switchblade I had worked pretty well,” Akira said. It still felt strange to talk about what he had done so openly, and even after being grilled by his parents for why he was out all night and the body being reported as a homicide he still felt certain he would be found. Remembering the smell of the blood made his stomach twist a bit before settling back down into its usual stern silence. “I already kind of know how to fight with one. I've gotten into a few fights.”

“Oh, the Kurusu kid, fighting? Preposterous,” Minato chuckled. When Akira gave him a deadpan expression he smirked and turned to walk off. “Wait here then. I've got a few knives you can look at.” Akira blew a breath out, shifting some of his hair off to the side and out of his eyes, and took the opportunity to look around the apartment now that the shock of the night before had worn off.

The decorations were strange little things, monsters and figures from mythology scattered around on little pedestals and stands. On the end table beside the couch he saw a picture of Minato with a woman in a dark blue dress and short silver hair. A laptop sat plugged in to a desk on the rightmost wall, screen dark and charger plugged in to keep it alive. The coffee table sat bare save for the MP3 player Minato had left there with his headphones attached to it. For some reason Akira got the sense that this place had once been much livelier but now death resided in its walls.

Perhaps that was why Minato had worn his yukata the way he had when they met.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by a hand suddenly grabbing him and an arm beginning to snake around his throat. On instinct he swung back with his elbow but found air instead, so he reached back with his hand to try and catch skin beneath his nails. He found nothing and very real panic began to set in as the arm around his throat began squeezing painfully. A knee knocked into the back of the one baring the brunt of his weight and sent him down to his knees with no effort whatsoever. The arm around his throat released him and Akira had never been so glad to be able to breathe in his life. Before he had completely caught his breath he scrambled up to his feet and turned around ready to fight to see Minato standing there with an unimpressed look in his eyes.

“Second lesson. Always pay attention to your surroundings. You never know when someone could sneak up on you and try to catch you off guard. If you get caught with a body people might scream, or they might try and capture you once you've got a price on your head for your arrest. You need to be ready for either scenario,” Minato said. “Also what the hell was that? That was pathetic, I could have snapped your neck or slit your throat and you never would have known who I was.”

“Usually when I get into fights the kids don't try to grab me like that. They usually grab me around the waist or under my arms,” Akira answered. Minato sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side.

“Teaching you how to break a hold and handle your own in a fist fight should probably be our top priority right now. You may not always have your weapon on you when you go to finish the job, or your target may be smart enough to fight back. You need to be able to take them down with skill and determination alone. I'm a little rusty so I may not be the best sparring partner, but I'll be able to at least teach you a few things,” Minato said while rolling his shoulders slowly. “For one, don't put all your weight on one leg. They get in one cheap shot and your knee's fucked for life, or you're hitting the ground like you did a second ago and unable to fight back. Try to keep your weight evenly balanced, or if you're going to put all your weight on one leg make sure it's the one further away from them. That way they have to put in real effort to take you down and it leaves them wide open for you to come in and turn the tables on them.”

“Did you learn this from killing as Reaper or...?”

“Hmm? Oh no, I went to high school with someone who taught me a few things. He tended to get into fights with his friend a lot so he knew a few things and decided to teach me one day. He was also a part of the boxing team,” Minato answered. “I was mostly just a shitty sparring dummy but it got the job done for him, and I learned how to defend myself when I needed it. Now come at me.”

Akira fully intended on giving Minato a good right hook, then follow it up with a gut shot with his left fist and to follow that up with another one that should wind him. What actually ended up happening was he swing for the right hook and Minato grabbed his arm, twisted it hard enough that Akira yelled, and dropped down to his knee to force Akira down with him before surging forward and knocking him onto his back. It took a good few seconds for him to process what the fuck had just happened, but when he finally did his face went bright fucking red in embarrassment.

“I could read that coming from a mile away. Your face gave it away, and you led with your right side before you reared back for the punch. I had plenty of time to step out of the way and grab you. You're extremely emotive. You need to learn how to keep your face neutral so your targets don't know what you're thinking or planning unless you want them to. If you can manage that, you automatically get a hand up in a fist fight,” Minato said and released Akira's arm. He stood slowly and reached a hand out to haul Akira up to his feet. “Someone who doesn't know how to fight properly might not have read that, and maybe you could have taken them on, but you're not always going to go after people who are idiots in a fight. Don't get cocky, either. One cheap shot doesn't guarantee a win.”

“Right. So...what are we doing now...?” Akira asked quietly. "I'm not too keen on getting thrown to the floor again today. Once was enough, thank you." Minato stared at him for a while before letting a lazy smile curl his lips upwards.

“How about some Old Maid?”

 

Two months passed by him in a blur, his afternoons divided between gymnastics, studying, and studying with Minato, who proved to be a good teacher in anything he set his mind to. By this point Akira could hold his own fairly well in hand to hand combat with Minato. He would still go down without fail, but it was a lot harder to get him down, and one lucky (and entirely accidental) cheapshot when Minato's phone began ringing meant that Akira technically had one win under his belt. He felt confident enough in his knife technique that he had began teaching himself easy little knife tricks to show Minato whenever he wanted to impress his teacher. This lead to more than a few nicks and scrapes on his fingers and more bandages than a normal kid should go through with Akira passing them all off as Minato having a very playful kitten.

When Akira played Old Maid with Minato, however...

“Sonofabitch, not again!” Akira dropped his cards in front of him and groaned audibly, head coming down to rest in his hands in frustration. In front of him Minato chuckled and leaned forward to pat his shoulder reassuringly.

“Don't feel bad kid. Took me a while to get to where I am today,” he said. Conveniently he left out why he was such an emotionless shell and decided to instead give Akira a little bit of an explanation. “Almost every person has a tell. Eyes moving around, fingers moving, licking their lips, little things like that. You have to really pay attention to a person to figure out what they are, if they even have them. Some people have trained themselves so well that they won't have one, or if they do it'll be something completely inconspicuous. Easily passed off and forgotten about. You have like, twelve.”

“You're exaggerating!”

“Let's see. You roll your neck, you twirl your hair, you wave your fingers, your toes curl, you rub your lips together, you-”

“Okay, okay! I get the point,” Akira sighed and pulled his legs up to his chest. “Geeze...this is harder than I thought it would be...how did you do this?” Minato reached forward to collect the cards Akira had dropped and began shuffling them as he spoke.

“Hard work. Practice. Sheer determination to make a difference, even if it was only in Japan. Little bit of trauma mixed in there too, but we aren't talking about things like that. Trauma can't be taught. Not really. The reactions, the behaviors, the tells, maybe. But you can't ever _really_ teach your brain trauma.” A strangely comfortable silence settled in the room as Minato began dealing out the cards again for another game. Akira thought for sure that after what Minato had said to him he would be more upset than he was, but instead it only made him conscious of those tells. It let him be able to work on them and keep Minato from seeing them.

Four hours later, Minato had two cards left in hand and the most dead expression in the world on his face. Akira had been fighting with himself for the past three minutes about which card he wanted to snag. The joker had still avoided coming into his hand, and Akira genuinely hoped that it would stay out of it. He very carefully reached hand out towards one of the cards and almost missed the way Minato's eye twitched subtly. His breath caught in his throat as he snatched the card up-

And very nearly swore out loud again.

How the actual _fuck_ had this happened? He thought for sure he'd picked the right card, he thought for sure this was it. He barely managed to contain his disappointment as Minato reached forward and plucked a card out of his hand before dropping the card and its pair down to the table.

“I win,” he said calmly. “I know you saw my eye, and now I'm going to tell you this. Some people purposefully create a tell to throw anyone watching them off. And sometimes the tell doesn't really mean what you think it does. But you did see it, and I'm impressed. I wasn't sure you would.” Akira dropped his cards down onto the table and leaned back in his seat.

“If this were a game of getting the joker I feel I would always win,” Akira muttered softly. He fished the card back up and began twirling it in his fingers slowly. “Almost like it's drawn to me or something...” Eventually Akira flipped the card face forward and allowed himself to stare at it. Minato stayed quiet, content to collect the cards from where they'd been dropped and stuffing them back into their box, then sat back against the couch to wait for Akira to come to his revelation. When he finally did Akira twisted the card so it lay flat against two fingers, the edge between his eyes and letting him look directly into Minato's.

“So I think I figured out what I want my signature to be.”

 

His first confession had been...an experience. He thought for sure that he would hesitate and panic a little bit, trip up and let something he shouldn't have slip. But no. Once he had slipped into the black leather of his outfit and slid the mask down over his eyes it felt like a whole other person had taken over but left Akira watching through the windows. A newfound confidence took him over, cockiness and invincibility setting him up above his victim. They had squirmed and squealed and begged before finally, finally spilling everything they had done, and Joker grinned. Their death had been quick and painless afterwards, the marks along the body a gruesome testament to the lengths Joker would be willing to go through in order to get his confession.

When he decided to upload the video he had put every precaution he could think of into place. Proxies, dummy sites, dead links, all of it. Hell, he'd even hitched a late night train to the biggest city he could get to with ease and uploaded it from there to avoid suspicion. He thought for sure he wouldn't get caught, that nobody would be able to find him.

When he received a message the next morning from someone named “Alibaba” he had been understandably confused, until he tapped on the icon to pull the thread up.

_What you did was impressive. I didn't know people could bleed that much. But you're not the best at covering your tracks you know. Anyone with half a brain and some coding skills would have been able to trace the video to you. Like I did._

_Who the hell are you and how did you get my number?_

_Just call me Alibaba. That's the name on the messages, isn't it? And like I said, anyone with half a brain could have figured out that you were the one to upload that confession. You could have easily been caught._

_Wait. 'Could have?'_

_I took the liberty to make a few security changes to the site you set up. Gave myself admin privileges and set up a whole slew of little things that would slow anybody trying to get into the page down enough for me to either block them completely or wipe the site. You should thank me._

_I guess I should. But why did you message me? Why did you even do any of that?_

_Because I want to see you continue. It was pretty fucked up, I'll give you that, but that guy deserved it. There's a lot of stuff he did that you didn't get him to confess to. Taking bribes from people, stealing medicine from hospitals, keeping patients alive that should have been let go ages ago just go milk them for more money...sick things like that. I could help you, if you want me to._

_Alright. But what's in it for me if I do?_

_I keep you from getting caught, and I feed you information on new targets. And before you ask I don't want anything else out of this than to see people die for what they've done. Don't worry. I'll try to stay out of your private life._

Akira tapped his foot against the floor of his bedroom, tongue between his teeth as he thought through his options. He could tell this Alibaba to fuck off and leave him alone, considering this may very well be some sort of trap to get him caught, or he could let them do their work and help him out in the long run. Admittedly he really wasn't the most technically advanced person in the world, and scraping up the information he had for his first target had been a fucking nightmare.

_Fine. You can help me out. Call me Joker._

_Alright Joker. Looking forward to working with you now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. This was absolutely Akira's gay awakening. Minato is fucking _pretty_. And yes, Minato is a bit of an asshole. This is the beginning of their relationship, when Minato is just starting out teaching Akira and guiding him along. He's not gonna be too friendly with Akira just yet. That comes later on down the line.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't get to post this on time because it was almost unbeta'd, and I didn't feel comfortable trying to post it that way LOL. But thankfully thanks worked out and so here we go! Chapter's on time. Now that I've gotten Joker's origin story out of the way, let me tell you. Shit's about to start picking up now.

Akechi flopped out onto his couch, chocolate coronet set carefully down on the table beside him, and sighed happily. The day had been easy for him, nothing really coming up that required his immediate attention, and the sweet shop that had just opened up offered him a free chocolate coronet if he would come test their wares. He had ingested far more sugar than he was used to but the food had been heavenly enough that he would be willing to work a little bit harder to get rid of the five pounds he gained that day. The coronet had been his favorite, and he was glad they had given it to him.

The trip there had been a present to himself for cleaning his apartment up and actually putting some small things to make it feel more like a home. The stupid generic painting had been removed and replaced with a much more vibrant scene of a green field, bursts of purple and white and yellow dotting the landscape and giving some much needed warmth to his living room. The plain white dishtowels had been replaced with patterned ones of butterflies, and a few vases filled with bright (fake) flowers dotted around the kitchen and living room to add even more splashes of color. Hell, for whatever reason he'd even bought a couple of decorated throw pillows to put on his couch.

The reason was painfully obvious however. Souji's comment had gotten to him. The emptiness of his own apartment had never bothered him before but for some reason it did when Souji brought it up. Maybe it only did because Souji cared about him, even if he didn't always show it because of that normally empty face of his. The fact that Souji had felt the need to say something meant he didn't feel right about it, and that something about it had worried him. Akechi felt proud of himself for making the place seem a little more homely and contemplated inviting his teacher over to see it.

His phone vibrated on his table, pulling him out of his sweet-induced thoughts, and with a low grumble he reached over to check the notification.

_Hey. Come to Leblanc. We need to talk. It's about Ryuyu._

_Is everything alright? Is he okay?_

_Yeah, but Kaneshiro got me to thinking about his leg. Maybe we can put our heads together and figure something out. Boss won't be in today so we can have the whole place to ourselves._

_I'm not sure how much we would accomplish, but I suppose we could perhaps figure something out. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes then._

_Be prepared for later. Tonight is Saturday after all. <3_

Akechi's face turned a soft, pretty shade of red as he realized just what exactly Akira meant in that message. He cleared his throat softly to try and fight the flush down as he rolled off the couch and went to gather his things to spend the night with Akira. The motions felt almost like second nature now, him packing an overnight bag to stay the night with Akira after sex, and he wondered just when he felt okay with this. Maybe it was the easy option for sex, maybe it was the weird way that he seemed to feel at least a little bit more ease when Akira took control away from him for a little bit, maybe it was the stupid fucking crush he carried, but it definitely seemed like he looked forward to their Saturday nights. It offered him a chance to let go for a little bit and pretend he was just a normal teenager on the cusp of adulthood.

A dry chuckle vibrated in his throat at that. He'd almost forgotten his birthday was coming up soon. In fact...yep. That's what he thought. He'd been so wrapped up in dealing with Kamoshida, and then working out the plan with Joker, that he had completely missed the fact that his birthday was in about two weeks. Sae would probably get him a present, and Ryuji would most likely insist on hanging out that day, but he didn't expect anything from Akira or anyone else. Hell, he wasn't even sure Akira knew when his birthday was. It wasn't private knowledge by any means but he sure as hell didn't expect the guy to follow his food blog either. If he did find out about it Ryuji would probably be the one to tell him.

On the way to Leblanc he finally got around to uploading the pictures from his venture at the shop, cute little selfies of him smiling and paused on one with a bit of strawberry cream smeared at the corner of his mouth. On a whim he sent this one to Ryuji and added “ _Found a new sweets shop! We need to check it out sometime_ ” onto it. That particular picture he neglected to upload, and decided he would show it off to Akira later.

Even getting into Leblanc turned out to be a chore, thanks to one simple, fuzzy, chatty little reason.

“Agh, dammit Morgana! Stop it, you little shit! You'll knock something over and then Boss will get angry!” Akira took a diving leap forward towards the door and faceplanted into the wood, thankfully avoiding shattering any of the glass and successfully pushing the cat into a corner behind a booth. After shaking his head out a little bit he plopped down in the far corner, just out of Akira's reach, and began bathing himself. “I swear to fuck if you run out this door I'll make a fur rug out of you!” A veiled thread made in frustration and anger, as Akira could never bring himself to hurt an animal if he could absolutely avoid it. With a soft huff and a hand running through his curls he pulled the door open and smiled at Akechi, who simply stared at him with a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Sorry about that, I took in a stray and-oh, sonofabitch!” Almost on cue Morgana ducked out of the cafe and down the street far away from him, yellow collar shaking against his fur.

“Having troubles, Kurusu?” Akechi teased as he stepped inside and set his bag down behind the booth to keep it hidden. Akira's eyes screamed 'please not now I'm not in the mood' as he let the door swing shut and turned to slide into one of the booths. “Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your toes.”

“It's fine. That weirdo comes and goes, I promise you in half an hour he'll be clawing at the door to get in and getting me in even more trouble. One of the panes on the bottom is scratched all to hell now because of him and I'm pretty sure I'll have to pay to replace it,” Akira muttered as Akechi took a seat across from him. “Boss won't be gone all day, but he'll be gone most of it. Long enough for us to put our heads together, at least. I hope.”

“You said this was about Ryuyu's leg, right? Somebody paid Kamoshida off to break it. The question is who? Perhaps one of the parents who wanted to see him fail?” Akechi suggested. “He was the Shujin track star, after all. If one of the parents felt jealous enough they may have decided to up their child's chances at stardom by taking out the main contender.”

“I mean, maybe? That seems kinda stretching it though. Then again, the lengths parents will go through for their kids...I remember this one kid had her mother come up to the school to scream at the principal for half an hour because she had her phone taken away from her,” Akira laughed. “So yeah. I can see it. But we would need to be able to get into the school records to see who was on the track team at the time of the 'accident,' and then we'd need to find some way to check their parent's bank accounts. So give me a-” Akira's phone chimed from his pocket and cut his train of thought short. He slid his phone out of his pocket and chuckled softly. “Never mind. Alibaba already seems to be on in.”

“Alibaba?” Akechi asked. Akira hummed and pushed his phone back down into his pocket.

“A hacker that covered my tracks on my first video. They're the one that gets me the information I need for my targets, and they're the one that takes care of uploading my confessions and keeping the site from getting traced. If it weren't for them I probably would have been caught by now,” he admitted. A hand reached up to gently twirl one of his curls around a finger, a nervous tic that even after all these years he hadn't been able to stop.

His near slip-up from the day before suddenly dried his mouth and made him swallow to try and keep himself from coughing nervously. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to say something. Maybe avoid the L word he had almost used, but maybe it would be okay to mention that he had some feelings for Akechi. The worst that could possibly happen would be Akechi turning him down after all. It might make hanging out with Ryuji a little more awkward, but nothing he couldn't work through.

“Kurusu I-”

“Hey Akechi-” The pair paused for a second in surprise before breaking out in soft laughter. Akira thought he could see the tiniest hint of a blush on Akechi's face but couldn't be entirely sure. “Sorry, go ahead.”

“I'm sure what you had to say was more important,” Akechi said; Akira shook his head in answer and tapped his foot against Akechi's shin underneath the table.

“No. Go ahead. I can wait.” An expression Akira couldn't honestly say he had seen before on Akechi's face settled in for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak, choosing his words carefully.

“Do I seem...cold to you?” he asked, completely out of left field and surprising even himself. He couldn't say with any certainty what he had meant to say before but it seemed he had managed to shove his foot into his mouth yet again. The surprise in Akira's eyes proved that even he hadn't expected this, but Akechi took the stunned silence as an opportunity to push on. “I just worry. My teacher came to my apartment the day after I murdered Konishi. He made a comment about my apartment. The lack of decorations I had in it, specifically. He didn't say it but I know he thought it looked lonely and cold.”

“You want to know if you seem...cold? That came out of nowhere,” Akira said. He curled the strand of hair around his finger tighter and bit his lip in thought. “...Honestly? Sometimes. You look so distant and you look like you're not really here. Like you're just going through the motions to live. Like, sometimes you seem like a normal person and you laugh and joke and tease. But a lot of the times you just have this hollow look in your eyes. Reminds me of my teacher a little bit.”

“Oh? Which one?” Akechi asked. Akira flicked his eyes over to Akechi for a brief moment before fixating on the grain of the wood.

“The one who taught me how to kill. He always looks so sad and pained. I mean, I know why now, but it still hurts. To see both of you so empty all the time,” Akira admitted. “Why do you look so dead all the time?” Akechi began twiddling his thumbs underneath the table as he tried to find a proper answer.

“...I've been through a lot. My mother committed suicide when I was younger, and I ended up getting bounced around from foster home to foster home. None of them were good to me, and it left a lot of scars on me. I've never really been okay since then. I suppose that may be why I look so dead,” he laughed. “I've developed a morbid sense of humor and an even more twisted outlook on life. Perhaps that's why I turned to murder.”

“Seems to be a reoccurring theme of shitty parents making serial killers with us, doesn't it?” Akira laughed. “My parents are just kinda...white noise. Never really interested in me unless I do something good or impressive or wrong. Like when they caught me kissing Ke-” The door opened with a jingle, drawing his attention towards it to see a short girl with bright orange hair holding a sizable stack of papers. “I'm sorry, we aren't-”

“It wasn't a student's parent. It was his own dad.” She stormed over to him and dropped the papers down, arms coming up to cross in front of her chest. “I'm honestly surprised you two didn't think about him first.” Akira's brow furrowed gently and his eyes slid over to Akechi. His phone vibrated again, and he pulled it out slowly. A new message from Alibaba scrolled across the top.

_Told you I was on it. :P_

“What the...no way in hell,” he muttered and turned to the girl, who waved her phone at him; he could see their message thread on her screen and the broad grin on her face. “Seriously? You're not pulling my leg?”

“Nope! You should have told me you were moving to the cafe dude, I would have come to visit you when you weren't drunk off your ass,” she said and shooed Akechi down to the corner so she could sit across from Akira. “Seriously, I would have thought you would have more of an alcohol tolerance than that.”

“Wait a minute...you! You're the one whose hair I was grabbing at! I feel like such an idiot now,” Akira groaned and shoved his face into his hands.

“Excuse me, but...drunk off his ass? Why would he have alcohol?” Akechi asked.

“Oh, he didn't tell you? Kaneshiro caught him and almost sold him off. His teacher brought him back here and Sojiro let him get plastered. He was pretty shaken up about it,” she explained. When Akechi's eyes widened in shock she snorted adorably and covered her mouth with her hand. “Yeah. I take it he didn't tell you.”

“Of course he didn't! Kurusu why didn't you tell me you were almost sold!?” Akechi snapped with a little more force and a little more emotion than he meant to. Akira's embarrassment turned to frustration as a scowl flushed the color from his cheeks.

“I didn't think it was important for you to know that, Akechi. Besides, I took care of Kaneshiro the next day, so it's no big deal,” he grumbled. Akechi froze, a deer in headlights look on his face now, and made the most questioning expression he could muster. He had just outright admitted he was Joker without saying the words and Akechi wondered if perhaps Akira had finally lost his marbles.

“K-Kurusu, I-”

“Crow, meet Alibaba. Alibaba, meet Crow,” Akira said, hand waving between the two of them in greeting to keep Akechi's panties from bunching up, so to speak. “So can I ask your name or no?”

“Oh. Sakura Futaba. I'm Sojiro's adopted daughter. I don't usually get out much, but I told Sojiro I wanted to finally meet you when you actually knew who the hell I was,” she snickered. “And I wanted to drop this off, but hey. That was just a bonus.” Akira huffed at her, deciding he would talk to her later about this and more than a little surprised to find out Sojiro's daughter had been the one helping him for two years,and leaned forward to pull the papers over to him to look through them.

“So why do you think it was his dad?” he asked. Futaba reached up to readjust her glasses on her face and scooted back in her seat so she could pull her legs up to her chest.

“Because his granddad on his dirtbag dad's side had an inheritance that Ryuji could have claimed,” she explained. “It was supposed to go to him, but if he wasn't there to claim it then everything went to his dad. The day Ryuji's grandfather died his dad shelled out a good thirty thousand yen for Kamoshida to break his leg. Ryuji ended up in the hospital, but nobody else besides his dad and Kamoshida, and Akechi here, knew about it. So he didn't know he had an inheritance, he couldn't claim it, and everything ended up going to his dad.” Akira hummed and began flipping through the papers a bit quicker now.

“Financial records?”

“The last five pages. His dad took the money out, Kamoshida ended up depositing it into his account the same day, the next day Ryuji's leg broke, Kamoshida paid his hospital bill, and Ryuji's dad got a fat lump sum of cash two weeks after he ended up in the hospital. The old bastard's blown through most of it at this point on hookers and booze though,” she said. “There's not much left for Ryuji to take at this point. But it's his fault Ryuji went through everything with that perverted bastard. So if you want to kill him then be my guest. I can send you the places he hangs out, the people he hangs out with, everything you need.” Akechi looked over to Akira now and pursed his lips.

“You're think about something Akechi. What is it?” Akira asked.

“...We could kill him together,” Akechi suggested. “For his confession. He made Ryuyu's life a living hell when we were younger, and he's the reason Ryuyu ended up Kamoshida's plaything as well? I want to get a few licks in myself, so to speak. In a weird, fucked up way, part of me is thankful for what he did when we were children, because I don't think we would have made friends otherwise, but he still hurt Ryuyu. I don't think it's fair that just one of us gets to torture him.” Akira clicked his tongue at that and dropped the papers to look back to Akechi.

“Your voice is too well known. We'd have to edit it with audio equipment, and that's too risky. If someone notices it's distorted they can just clean everything up and boom, there's your voice. Combine that with your hair and we'd be done,” he explained. “Sorry, but you'll have to sit this one out. But don't worry, I'll make sure to drag this one out as long as I can to make up for what he did.” Anger flashed across Akechi's eyes and he leaned forward to glare forcefully at Akira.

“I don't think you understand, Kurusu. Either I kill him, or we kill him together. There is no 'you' in this equation. That man is a vile stain that needs to be dealt with, and if I have to fight you and deal with you myself I will. Remember, I have ways of putting you away for your crimes,” he hissed. Akira's blank face settled in immediately, a hand slowly coming up to pull his glasses off and carefully set them down on the table. Once he had finished he let his fingers lace together and cleared his throat softly. When his eyes met Akechi's again they carried some sort of emotion that Akechi couldn't place but still sent a strong shudder down his spine.

“You don't get to make decisions like that, Akechi.” His voice was level and clipped and nothing like any voice Akechi had ever heard him use. This sounded completely different from his usual self, from the voice of authority he used as Joker. This voice sounded like ice, like death given an outlet. “If you want to be reckless and allow yourself to be caught after killing for nearly four years then please, be my guest and do something stupid. But I will not allow myself to fall with you. I will do this may way, alone, without your help, unless you can prove to me that you won't allow yourself to give us away. We have time for you to work on this, and if you can get to a point where I feel comfortable allowing you on camera, we can begin planning the confession and working on your disguise. Do I make myself clear?”

“...Y...yes.” Akira smiled a sharp grin, unclasped his hands, and reached up to scratch at the back of his head now.

“Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, we should probably start getting ready for our study group with Ryuyu,” he said. The sudden shift in emotion and tone amazed Akechi, as even with his years of practice he still needed a few seconds to collect himself and set the right mask into place. “He'll probably be here soon and I don't want to be talking about this when he gets here.” Akechi's phone went off again and he moved to check it, expecting the notifications from his new post to finally come flooding in. After staring at his screen for a second he cleared his throat and set his phone back into his pocket.

“I'm afraid I won't be able to stay for that. Sae-san just messaged me, I'm needed back at the station right now,” he said. Now it was his turn to sound clipped and anxious as Futaba slid out of her seat to let Akechi out. Akira watched him leave with a tense glare before letting his eyes slide over to Futaba, who seemed to have the same look.

“Not yet. Give him time to open up to us. If things get too far, then you can get involved.”

 

Akechi fiddled with the black gloves on his hands for the thousandth time in the past fifteen minutes in an attempt to keep himself calm. He couldn't believe he was back here after four fucking years of dead silence. Why the hell did _Shido_ want to speak with him now all of a sudden? He thought for sure the radio silence from him would be permanent and honestly, Akechi had welcomed it. This could potentially throw a huge wrench in his plans depending on what Shido wanted with him.

The door cracked open just a bit, the signal ingrained into Akechi's brain for him to step inside, and when he did he found Shido sitting at his desk, very obviously pissed off and almost assuredly at Akechi. He quietly shut the door behind him and set his hands behind him to continue tugging at his gloves to keep himself calm.

“Do you mind explaining to me what the hell that...date...with that boy was?” Shido snapped, and the confusion must have struck a nerve as Shido began grinding his teeth together roughly. “I asked you a question, brat.”

“That was weeks ago and you only just now thought to confront me about this?” Akechi asked, immediately regretting that decision when Shido's eye twitched and his hand moved on instinct to smack Akechi across the face. The distance would have made that a pointless motion, and he seemed to realize it as he very carefully laid his hand back on his desk.

“I've been busy lately. But I _did_ ask you a question.” Akechi sighed softly, just barely audible even to him, and squeezed three of his fingers behind him to keep his calm facade in place.

“It wasn't a date, as I said during my interview. It was a celebration dinner. His mother passed away, it was-”

“Shut up. The point is, people are talking about you, and I don't like it,” Shido snapped. “You're going to avoid doing things like that with that...runt...in public from now on. Do I make myself clear?” Akechi scoffed and squeezed his fingers again. The pressure kept his brain from scrambling and kept his mouth from running on its own.

“Excuse you? You don't control me. I'll do whatever I damn well please,” Akechi said. “You haven't spoken to me in nearly four years, why in the hell are you suddenly interest in what I've been doing with my life?”

“Because I'll be running from the seat of prime minister soon. And I'm going to use you to spearhead my campaign,” Shido explained. “You're going to sing my praises at the top of your lungs whether you like it or not. If you disobey me...I can't promise your friend will be safe.” Now it was Akechi's turn to grind his teeth painfully. If he weren't wearing his gloves his nails would be digging into his skin enough to draw blood at this point.

“Don't threaten him.”

“Then don't disappoint me, Akechi. I would rather not have to kill some stupid high school kid because my idiot son decided he wouldn't do as I asked,” Shido huffed and waved Akechi off. “That's all I wanted out of you. This conversation is done now.” When Akechi didn't immediately move Shido cleared his throat to get the point across a little more forcefully. A short nod, a cold smile, and Akechi was out of the office at nearly a dead run.

He shouldn't let himself react like this, he knew it, but goddammit Shido could always find a way to get underneath his skin. The thought of killing him had crossed Akechi's mind more than a few times, but so far the only crimes Akechi could throw at him were child abuse and negligence, as well as threatening murder. Not enough for even Crow to target him. The petty killing with Konishi had been dangerous enough, meaning petty killing Shido was entirely off the table.

His feet slowed down to a stop as Ryuji's bright, sunny smile darted across his eyes. The threat had been very real and Akechi knew Shido would go through with it if need be. A part of him said that maybe staying away from Ryuji would be the best thing right now, but another part of him said that would be the stupidest thing he could possibly do. Avoiding Ryuji would hurt him just like Akechi disappearing had, and he couldn't let himself do that again.

Imagining Ryuji's pained face at being avoided made Akechi's heart squeeze and his lungs lock up. Hurting Ryuji was the last thing he wanted to do, the last thing he would ever let himself do. Akechi loved him too much for that. After everything that had happened in his life, and after the conversation with Shido, Akechi decided that Ryuji deserved to know at least somebody loved him. He wouldn't let himself put this off any longer.

Leblanc would be his first destination and the place his feet directed him to. He would call things off with Akira, maybe get in one last good fuck if he felt like it, then head straight to Yuuki's apartment and confess to Ryuji finally. Maybe he should grab some flowers? That's what you did when you told someone how you felt after all. Dozens of ways to say “I love you” ran through his brain, trying and failing to find the right way to admit his feelings. The corners of his lips tugged up gently at the thought of finally getting this off his chest, of finally being able to say those words to Ryuji and of being able to hold him the way Akechi had been wanting to for a long, long time.

Sojiro was just stepping out of the cafe as Akechi turned the corner, and when Sojiro saw him he waved gently.

“The other two are upstairs. I'm stepping out for a little bit, but you can head on in,” he said and held the door open for Akechi. With a nod and a smile Akechi stepped inside, the door closing behind him and sealing the deal. This would be it, no turning back. He would tell Ryuji how he felt in front of Akira and avoid the awkward conversation with Akira about their sex life and-

“Hey Aki-chan...there's somethin' I've been wanting to tell you for a while,” Ryuji said. Akechi stopped at the foot of the stairs, a ball of nerves suddenly winding itself up in his stomach. Ryuji sounded nervous and scared, which were two emotions Akechi never wanted to hear from his friend in his life. Was Akira threatening him? Akechi wanted to believe Akira wasn't like that, but...

“Hmm? What's up, Ryuyu?” Akira asked. Akechi could hear the sounds of feet shuffling and Ryuji laughing nervously. Akechi set a hand on the corner of the stairs and held his breath, the ball of nerves winding even tighter as he began to piece together what was about to happen and hoped to whatever deity would listen that he was wrong.

“...God I feel so stupid right now. But I gotta get this off my chest. 'nd if you don't feel the same way I understand and I just really hope we can still be friends afterwards.” Akira's breath audibly hitched, finally seeming to come to the same conclusion as Akechi, before laughing awkwardly.

“Ryuyu...”

“Don't laugh man, that's gonna make this harder for me. Look, I really like you, okay? I don't blame you if you don't feel the same 'nd I'm sorry if I made things awkward between us but I couldn't keep quiet anymore 'nd-mph!” Akechi's heart shattered in his chest at the sound of footsteps and of Akira's lips on Ryuji's. The soft sound of giggling drifted down the stairs towards him and made the pain in his chest worse.

“I like you too, Ryuyu. I was just scared to say anything to you. I didn't want to rush things and scare you,” Akira admitted. “I didn't think you felt the same way either. I wanted to tell you, but...”

“Well I'm glad I said somethin' then. You really do like me though...?” Ryuji asked, and Akira laughed again.

“If I didn't like you I wouldn't have kissed you, silly. Do I need to do it again to prove I like you?”

“...Maybe.” They kissed again, grinning like idiots and giggling hard enough that they kept breaking apart. Eventually Akira's hands settled on either side of Ryuji's face to hold him as they kissed, his heart beating wildly out of his chest. Ryuji confessing was such a blessing, as it pulled a heavy weight from his shoulders. If he was with Ryuji there wouldn't be any need to worry about his feelings for Akechi, he could focus entirely on his boyfriend (god he can actually use that word holy _shit_ ) and let them die down.

When they finally broke apart again they were both still smiling, cheeks burning from the strain, and laughing softly. The pure affection in Ryuji's eyes warmed Akira's heart and made him want to hug the other boy as tightly as he could for as long as he could.

“So...does this mean we're dating now?” Ryuji asked quietly. Akira breathed out another laugh and nodded, letting his hand slide down Ryuji's arm to twine their fingers together.

“Yeah. We're dating now,” Akira agreed. A flush spread across their faces as they leaned in for yet another kiss. Their foreheads pressed together softly, their eyes locked together with warmth flooding between them. “We should probably get back downstairs...Akechi might be on his way back for the study group, and I don't want him to come back to an empty cafe.”

“Oh shit. Right. We can tell Go-chan we're together too,” Ryuji said and tugged at Akira's wrist. “If you're okay with it. Shit, probl'y shoulda asked that first...” Akira leaned forward to brush his lips softly against Ryuji's cheek as they went downstairs.

“Of course I'm okay with it, Ryuyu,” he said. Akira knew that Akechi would have found out soon enough anyway when Akira messaged to cut their Saturday night meet-ups short. Warmth blossomed in his chest at the realization that he and Ryuji were together now. They were dating, Ryuji liked him too, they were an actual couple now. Akira thought for sure that he would end up spending his time in Tokyo alone, but now he had Ryuji at his side and would do anything in his power to keep the blond there.

When they stepped down to the lower floor of Leblanc they were both surprised to see Akechi already waiting there, books and notes in front of him. He seemed to not even realize the pair had come down until Akira cleared his throat softly, and when he did his head raised just a little too quickly for Akira's liking.

“Oh, hello. Sakura-san you two were upstairs doing something, and I didn't want to bother you,” he said. An undercurrent of some emotion soaked his words, only audible to Akira thanks to his practice with Minato at reading into what people were saying and what they really meant. What emotion, though, he couldn't place. Akechi's eyes drifted down to where their hands clasped together, and a different one filtered into his dark eyes. “Why are you...oh.”

“Aki-chan and I are...together now,” Ryuji said, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. “That's what was goin' on upstairs. Hope we didn't keep you waitin' or somethin'.” Akechi laughed, and to Akira it sounded painfully forced, like he really wasn't okay with this, and truthfully Akira couldn't really blame him. He knew Akechi's feelings for Ryuji and still, like an idiot, said yes.

“No, you didn't. But I'm happy for you. I just hope Kurusu treats you well. Otherwise I might have to hurt him,” Akechi said, and this time Akira could recognize what Akechi was feeling; pure, unadulterated rage mixed with contempt and a touch of hatred. Pain bloomed in the place of the head from before at the look and for a brief moment Akira considered apologizing to Ryuji and saying it wouldn't work, but he realized that would be a dick thing to do and Akira didn't really like to do dick things if he could help it. So instead he forced a smile that he hoped would fool Akechi, even if he knew it wouldn't, and laughed.

“Don't worry, Akechi. I won't hurt him. You have my word. He's been through enough,” he said and let Ryuji pull him over to the booth across from Akechi, fishing their books out of their bags and settling in for the long haul.

To Ryuji, nothing seemed different between the three of them, even with his relationship out in the open. He expected Akechi to be a bit more hesitant about them together and expected (hoped, even if he'd never admit it out loud) that Akechi would tell him no because he felt the same about Ryuji. But Akechi seemed just fine with it, the playful banter and genuine care between the three of them unchanged as ever.

To Akira, everything Akechi said towards him felt like a stab in the heart. Like Akira had betrayed him by starting a relationship with his best friend, the guy he was very obviously in love with. For abandoning their little...thing...they had going for another guy instead of him. The feeling sat heavy in his heart, wrapped around the feelings he still carried for Akechi that he wished would just go away already, preferably by burning in a fire so he could sweep the ashes out.

To Akechi, the world around him had come crashing down painfully around him in one fell swoop. Not only had his best friend and the person he'd been in love with for years pick his literal fucking rival to be with, that same rival also showed no hesitation in agreeing to the relationship despite their interactions and the secrets they carried between themselves. He felt like a used rag tossed aside and forgotten at the end of the day and he _despise_ it.

Once the three of them had finished their studying (Ryuji still didn't fucking understand what the hell they were doing in math, but he figured Akechi would be able to explain it to him well enough for him to understand one of these days) and had stuffed their faces full of curry, Ryuji piped up that he would have to leave soon if he wanted to make it back to Yuuki's apartment before the trains stopped running. With obvious reluctance in their voices they let Ryuji go, Akira's face turning bright red when Ryuji gave him a goodbye kiss on his cheek before darting out of the cafe. With Akechi and Akira alone with each other, they both understood they needed to address the elephant in the room even if neither of them wanted to.

“...So. You're...Ryuyu...” Akechi couldn't find the words he wanted to get out, and he hated himself or it. He wanted to be angry and to yell at Akira and maybe even hit him, but he couldn't find it in him to do it. He understood that Ryuji needed to be happy, even if it meant that he wasn't the one to make Ryuji happy, but the jealousy still burned in him. He wanted Ryuji, and he wanted Akira. He'd just been a little too late to have either.

“Akechi I'm sorry, but he...he said he liked me and he looked so vulnerable that I-”

“Do you really like him?” Akira closed his mouth slowly, the stern look in Akechi's eyes reminding him of a disappointed parent for some reason and left a horribly bitter taste in his mouth. “Or did you just lie to him?”

“Wha-Akechi no, I didn't lie. I really do like him. A lot. Like I said I'm sorry.” Akechi sighed softly, pain in his face that made Akira's stomach twist. He'd never seen pain on Akechi's face before, ever. He'd never heard pain in Akechi's voice either, so hearing it when he spoke next made him sick.

“Just...make sure you don't hurt him. And keep him happy. Okay?” Akechi whispered. When their eyes met and Akira could see the hurt in them he wanted to lean forward and kiss him, tell him he loved him and wanted him so badly and honestly wished he could be selfish and have them both. He hated being made to choose and he knew he would be fucked if he went down either road. He just hoped he had made the right decision and picked the one with the least turbulence.

“Don't worry. I won't hurt him. I'll make sure he's happy. I'll...I'll do what you can't,” he said. Akechi nodded to him and took a slow, shuddering breath. “I guess you won't be staying the night here anymore now, huh?”

“No. I won't. Even if you hadn't said anything just now, I wouldn't let you cheat on Ryuyu. If you ever did I'd gut you and dump your body somewhere,” Akechi answered coldly. “The threat still stands, if I ever find out you've hurt him or done anything to wrong him. I know it will hurt him, but he'll recover eventually.”

“I thought for sure you'd make that threat to me anyway when you found out we were dating,” Akira said, trying to add a little bit of humor to the situation. It failed miserably, as evidenced by Akechi giving him a dead look and shaking his head in disappointment. “...Sorry. I tried. Not the best at these kinds of situations...” When Akira glanced down at his phone for the time he found himself hesitating and unable to find his voice for a few moments. “It's getting late and it's a good ways to your place. You should probably hurry so you aren't stranded.”

“Right. I suppose I'll see you another time then, Kurusu.” Akechi calmly turned, collected his bag from the back corner of the cafe, and let himself out without another word. Akira watched him leave, his heart in his throat making it hard to swallow and even harder to breathe. He didn't even realize he was crying until he felt a tear tickle the bottom of his jaw and fall down to the floor with a wet plop.

Letting out a soft sob and a bit of a hiccup he wiped his face and grabbed his things to take upstairs, making sure to lock up as well as turn the light in the cafe off as he went. He didn't even bother to put his things away properly, instead settling for dropping them on the floor as he walked over to his bed. After flopping down onto the shoddy mattress he grabbed his phone to send a text to the one person he felt might be able to help him in this situation.

_Senpai. I think I fucked up._

 

When Minato's phone went off he considered ignoring it, assuming it was Junpei asking if he wanted to hang out for the rest of the night. Then he remembered Junpei had gone to bed already that night and figured if he was messaging now then something must be wrong. He grabbed the phone off of his bedside table and glanced at the message before a slight frown settled on his face. Akira had been the one to message him, and the brief message was enough to worry him.

_What's wrong? Are you alright? You didn't kill someone did you? Do you need me to come help cover you?_

_No_  
_you don't need to come cover me_  
_but I do need to talk to you_  
_so can I call you_  
_please_  
_I'm begging you_  
_I don't know what to do_

____

Minato carefully closed his book and set it off to the side so he could have both hands. Akira had never gotten this upset about something, seeing him send so many different messages at once instead of one long concise text.

_Of course. You're safe?_

_Yes_  
_safe  
just panicking_

Minato nearly sent another reply message before his phone began vibrating and Akira's name showed across his screen. When he answered the call he quickly realized Akira had been talking before Minato had even answered.

“-pissed and I don't know what to do I shouldn't have said yes but I couldn't bring myself to say no he's so sweet and cute and scared and hurt and-”

“Akira. Calm down. Breathe. Remember what I told you when we began our training? How I taught you to calm yourself? Do that for me now,” Minato said. Akira whined, an ugly and choked sound, and swallowed thickly.

“Minato it's not working I can't calm down my chest feels tight and I think I might pass out I fucked up bad and I'm scared and I'm so angry now and I don't know what to do.” He pulled in a painfully shuddering breath and began openly sobbing now. “I think he hates me now and I know it's my fault but it still hurts.”

“Who hates you? Did you do something to upset Sojiro? Please Akira, I can't help you if you can't calm down.” He hoped he didn't sound angry, he knew he could sometimes come off as a bit abrasive, and listened as Akira continued to make pained noises. It hurt Minato to hear Akira sound like this and for him to not be there in person to do anything to help. After what felt like an eternity Minato heard Akira finally breathe in slowly and felt himself relax a little bit.

“I...I fucked up. Ryuyu...I couldn't...I couldn't say no...” Minato's head tilted slightly in thought as he tried to remember who Akira was talking about. When he did his eyes widened a bit in surprise, and his stomach dropped out to leave behind a sinking and familiar dread.

“Couldn't say no to what? You didn't hurt him did you?” he asked. Akira coughed a few times before he could find his voice again to speak.

“No. He's...fine.” Minato let out a soft sigh and flopped back onto his mattress. His eyes fell shut in relief at the reassurance that Akira hadn't done something too monumentally stupid. “But...we're dating.”

Goddammit. Minato always had a habit of looking a gift horse in the mouth didn't he? Just his luck.

“Akira, I don't think I need to point out to you just how stupid it was that you agreed to this,” Minato deadpanned as a hand reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. A headache had already begun to blossom in the back of his skull and Akira had only said three words. He wondered just how long he would be able to make it before he would need to get up and grab some medicine for himself. “This is Crow's childhood friend. And you're _dating_ him now?”

“He confessed. He sounded nervous. He's been through enough. I worried saying no would cause problems. I thought Crow might be more angry at me. But he looked pissed as hell when he found out. He sounded angry too. I don't think Ryuyu noticed though. Not surprised. Crow's good at hiding his real emotions.” Minato strained to hear Akira moving around in his small attic room and continued to speak. More than likely he had begun pacing to keep himself calm. “Senpai I love him and I ruined everything I had with him.”

Minato had heard plenty of shocking things in his life. Ryoji begging Minato to kill him, Chidori dying suddenly from her illness and Junpei losing his fucking mind for a little bit, Shinjiro dying at the hands of some thugs and Akihiko screaming for him to come back, but this. This absolutely took the fucking cake. Before he could stop it laughter began bubbling up in his throat, a mixture of amusement and confusion causing his brain to assume what he had been told was funny. He realized his mistake almost immediately.

“Minato please don't laugh. I'm being serious right now. I genuinely love him. I mean, I have feelings for Ryuyu, don't get me wrong. I really do like him. But the things I feel for Crow are so much stronger. I feel like saying no to Ryuyu would have sucked but I think it would have been okay. Seeing Crow's face when he found out we're together...it killed me. I wanted to cry and kiss him all over his face so he wouldn't be mad at me. I almost told him how I felt today and I didn't and god I wish I had,” Akira whispered. “I don't know what to do. I want to say something to him but I think it's too late. Ryuyu and I are dating now, if I tell Crow how I feel he might...he might get angry with me. He already threatened me if I cheated. Confessing would probably be the stupidest thing I could do. I know we can't break up, that will only make things worse, but...honestly this probably sounds selfish, but I want them both.” Minato stayed silent, making sure to pick and choose his words carefully before giving Akira an answer.

“You aren't selfish for wanting both, Akira. You know what your heart wants, and that's more than most people could say. The fact that you're honest enough with yourself to understand you want them both is impressive. And I understand why you don't think you can say anything, especially with the trauma Ryuji went through. You should definitely be careful going forward in your relationship.” Akira sighed, and Minato could hear the frustration just in that one sound.

“I hope this is the safest path I could take. I can't tell you how long, how many times I've sat through these scenarios over and over again. Trying to decide if it would be safer for me to be with Crow or if it would be safer to be with Ryuyu or if maybe I should just stay away from both of them. But then he confessed to me today and he sounded so nervous. He was blushing, senpai. He looked so scared say anything and if I had said no I think it...it might have made things worse between myself and Crow. Do you think I made the right choice?”

“Honestly Akira? I'm not sure. This isn't territory I'm familiar with, relationship-wise. Ryoji and I never had these kinds of issues. Perhaps you should ask someone else about this? I wish I could be more help.” Another sigh, more rustling, and Minato could hear the gentle creaking of the crates as Akira returned to his bed.

“I know senpai. But you were the first person I could think of to ask about this. I trust you, and I know you usually give me pretty good advice. I guess this is something that I'll have to figure out on my own. I knew I'd have to grow up and solve my own problems eventually, I just...hoped I'd have more time. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my work as Joker that I forget to act like a normal teenager. Relationship stuff is pretty on par for the course at my age right?” They both laughed, the change in topic doing wonders to ease the tension Akira's meltdown had brought on. Akira only ever liked to show weakness with Minato and he felt a sense of pride and comfort knowing Akira trusted him enough for that.

“Yes it is, though I don't think most teenagers would be able to admit carrying feelings for two different people. I'm sure you'll figure things out. You're a smart person. If you feel like you need to talk to me again then feel free to text me, though I can't guarantee you I'll be able to give you any useful advice,” Minato hummed. “Do you at least feel better after talking to me?”

“Yeah. I feel a lot better actually. I'm still not sure what I'll do about this mess I've walked into but I'll figure something out. Sorry if I scared you or made you panic Senpai.”

“You're fine Akira. I'm just glad you're okay. Get some sleep now, okay? You need it, I'm sure,” Minato said. Akira hummed an affirmative and grunted as he stretched to ease a bit of the tension in his muscles.

“Yeah, I do. I don't have school tomorrow but I'm waiting for Crow to get off his ass and give me a reply. I wonder if it'll be tonight, given what I did, but I also really doubt that,” he laughed. “Thanks for talking to me Senpai. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Akira,” Minato hummed as the call ended. After stretching a little bit himself he leaned over to set his phone back on his bedside table but stopped as it vibrated again. He flipped the screen over to check the message he just received. A strange sort of warmth blossomed in his chest, a smile spreading on his lips shortly afterwards.

_Favorite Hair Stylist  
Yosuke's home._


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My GF _insisted_ I post this chapter about two hours early LOL. Remember when I said Akira doesn't process things normally? And that it's probably gonna be really noticeable? YEAH. Here we go. Get ready kids.

Ryuji giggled quietly at his phone and quickly typed out a quick reply to Akira as he waited in front of the gates to Shujin. They'd both stayed up far too late last night texting each other stupid little jokes and memes and flirting with each other to varying degrees of success. Mostly on Ryuji's apart. Akira seemed to have no problems making him blush and sputter.

“He-llo~ Earth to Ryuji!” The blond jumped a little bit and whipped his head to the side to find Ann standing there laughing at him. “I've been trying to get your attention for like, five minutes now dude. What are you looking at that's got you distracted huh?” Ryuji's face turned a soft shade of red, his eyes darting back to his phone to reread his messages.

“Aki-chan 'nd I are texting. That's all,” he answered. Ann pouted at him and quickly leaned over his shoulder to look at his screen.

“What are you two talking about that's got you so distra...Ryuji why are there hearts next to Akira's name? You know you do that for people you're dating, right?” she said and pulled away. When the blush turned even worse Ann's eyebrows shot straight upwards. “Wait, a minute, you and-”

“Don't scream it, dammit!” Ryuji set a hand on top of her head and pushed her down to shut her up, which seemed to work better than he thought it would since she promptly shoved him off of her and pouted. “Aki-chan doesn't want anyone knowin'. He said I've already got it pretty bad still. Datin' a guy 'nd the 'delinquent transfer' probably wouldn't help things.” Ann's pout quickly turned into a concerned scowl. Her arms crossed across her chest, her weight shifting from one hip to the other. “What's that look for?”

“Ryuji that's usually a sign that the guy doesn't actually want to date you and is just trying to use you,” she pointed out. “I mean, I understand where this is coming from with him, but still.” Ryuji huffed at her and shoved his phone in his pocket with a bit too much force.

“Aki-chan wants to be with me, Ann. Don't doubt him, okay?” She uncrossed her arms from in front of her chest and instead set her hands on her hips. It was obvious she was trying to be as intimidating as possible. He had seen this plenty of times from her; this was her overprotective best friend state.

“Do you even really like him, or did you only start dating him because it was convenient?” she asked. Immediately Ryuji grit his teeth and straightened himself out to his completely non-intimidating full height to glare at her. While she had delicate features and a sharp gaze, Ryuji was all angles and sparks.

“The hell are you talking about? 'Course I love Aki-chan!” he snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth his eyes cut to the side and a hand raised to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. The tip of his shoe tapped against the stone beneath him awkwardly before he began shuffling from foot to foot.

“Ryuji...” He let out a sharp sigh and leveled his eyes to her.

“Look. Just drop it, 'kay? If you ain't happy for us then go bitch about it somewhere else,” he sighed and turned to head inside the school. Looked like waiting for Akira wouldn't really be something he could realistically do if Ann was going to give him the third degree about his relationship. He was actually happy and had someone who cared about him and still liked him even after knowing what he'd gone through. Shouldn't Ann have been happy about that? Shouldn't she be thrilled he was with someone?

...Shouldn't Ryuji be happy he was with someone too...? Why did he feel like there was a hole in his chest? He confessed, Akira felt the same, they were together, he was happy. Hell, he'd just blurted out he'd loved Akira to Ann without thinking. So why the hell did he feel like he'd fucked up somehow?

He didn't need to ask himself these questions. He knew the answer, as much as he hated it. The emptiness spawned from his love for Akechi. The guy who he remembered running to as a kid when his dad would get too violent and they'd spend the day finger painting together. The guy who disappeared out of his life and came back with tears in his eyes because Ryuji was stuck in the hospital with a broken leg and had no idea for nearly a week. The guy who looked so damn lonely when he went up on TV sometimes.

Maybe Ann had been right. Ryuji knew he never stood a chance with Akechi despite their past together. So maybe he really was just using Akira as a placeholder? A way to fill the gap without really filling it entirely. Bits and pieces still felt bare and raw and exposed, but he figured Akira would do a pretty good job covering most everything up.

He kicked that line of thinking away real damn quick. No. He really did like Akira. Hell, loved him. He'd already said it once, may as well own up to it even if he wouldn't say it so soon. Ryuji wanted to be with him and see him smile and hear him laugh and be a normal person. Like he was trying to do now. He'd found a therapist thankfully, and Yuuki insisted on getting his parents to pay for the sessions (he'd given them a puppy dog pout and explained Ryuji had no family left, it had worked surprisingly well actually) so he could get at least a little bit back to normal. He'd never be completely okay and he knew this. The scars ran just a little too deep into him for that. There would be days he would relapse and stumble, but he'd pick himself back up and keep going.

And Akira would be there to hopefully help him every step of the way.

Almost as if thinking about him summoned him Akira trotted up the steps to see Ryuji standing across from them with a deep-set frown on his face. Without thinking he walked over and leaned down so he was in Ryuji's line of sight before smiling.

“Hey now. Don't frown. You'll get wrinkles that way,” he teased, and when Ryuji laughed and playfully pushed him back he felt himself smile a little bit. “You look like you have something on your mind. Is everything alright?”

“Huh? Yeah. 'm fine. Ann just sorta got a little testy with me when she found out about us,” he explained. Before Akira could react he quickly added, “I didn't tell her. She looked at my phone and saw your name.” Akira's head tilted gently, the soft smile on his face growing into something a bit more teasing, and Ryuji felt like he could burst into flames in embarrassment.

“Oh? So what is my name in your phone then?” he asked. Ryuji set a hand over his face and groaned loudly, immediately turning to push his forehead against the glass to stifle some of the heat. He felt Akira's chin settle on his shoulder and heard that soft velvety chuckle that did things to his heart. “C'mon, Ryuyu~ You can tell me.”

“Sh-shut up dude. I just added some damn hearts, that's all,” he said. Akira immediately backed away, which pulled a soft whine from Ryuji at the loss of pressure and prompted him to turn around and pout. Akira immediately reached up to clutch at his heart from the sheer cuteness of the sight before him, bending his knees just a little bit to emphasize the point more. Ryuji shoved him again, a little more forcefully now, and growled at him even more.

“Sorry! Sorry. You're just too cute, I can't help it,” Akira whispered. “We should probably hurry off to class so we don't get in trouble for being late. Before we go though, you wanna come over to Leblanc today? We could rent some DVD's and binge them.” Ryuji nodded and flashed a grin at Akira that genuinely did have his legs trying to give out from underneath him.

“Yeah, I'd like that! Don't really have anythin' else goin' on today. Meet up at the gates? Maybe head out for ramen first?” he asked. Akira stared for a moment, not quite figuring out how to make his tongue work, before nodding as well.

“Yeah. Sure. See you later, Ryuyu.”

“Later, Aki-chan!” Ryuji watched him turn and felt a slight blush settle on his cheeks before he darted off to his own classroom.

The lessons dragged on through the day and left him trying not to fall asleep at his desk. The only thing that actually kept him awake was the excitement and joy at being able to hang out with Akira after school. A fresh blush covered his face at the realization he had suggested the two of them go out for a date, and Akira had actually agreed to their date.

Wait. Did Akira even understand it was supposed to be a date? Did he just assume Ryuji wanted to eat out after school because he would be hungry? Shit, Ryuji should probably figure this out shouldn't he? After spending most of his time in class dicking around on his phone instead of paying attention in class like he honestly should have been he'd learned long ago how to keep from getting caught.

_Hey Aki-chan. You do know that me asking you out for ramen was a date right?_

_Yeah, I assumed that was the case. Guessing that means you'll be paying for us, since you asked?_

Ryuji began to answer that yes, he would paying for both of them, before realizing he didn't actually have any cash left. He'd spent the last little bit of what he had left on getting himself lunch the other day. In fact the only reason he was even still able to eat was because Yuuki's parents hadn't kicked him out yet. He was honestly still waiting for the ball to drop on that one.

_Shit, I can't. Broke. Sorry. Rain check on the ramen?_

_Or I could just pay for both of us. Not a big deal. Sojiro just paid me yesterday, I've got a bit of money to burn so to speak._

_I can't ask you to do that man. I'm the one that suggested it after all. Let's just head to your room, 'kay?_

_Nope. We're going out and I'm treating you. Deal with it. I'm your boyfriend too you know~_

Ryuji sputtered at this, a hand coming up to cover his mouth, eyes wide and lips pursed behind his skin. It felt entirely different to see what word typed out for him to read than for him to hear it coming from Akira's lips. It somehow felt more real this way. His lips curled up softly and he quickly sent back a response.

_Fine. If you feel like you have to. Can't wait to spend time with you. <3_

He couldn't believe he'd just added a heart to that but he'd already sent it and there was no way to take it back now. He shoved his phone into his pocket to try and keep himself from combusting, for once deciding to actually try and pay attention the lesson going on. This idea lasted for all of five seconds before he ended up zoning back out again and staring at the wall across from him. What he honestly wouldn't give to be in the same class as Akira right now. At least that would make things interesting.

His phone went off again and against his better judgment he reached down to pull it out and check the message.

_Ryuji I'm sorry._

_Really Ann? Are you actually sorry for what you said?_

_Yeah, I am. It as a shitty thing to say to you. I'm just worried. Akira's the new kid, he just moved here not even two months ago and you're already dating. I'm worried you're only doing this because he was nice to you._

_That's not it. He's a good guy. He's funny and smart and cute and actually gives a damn about me. He gets along with Go-chan and he's actually helping me with my school stuff too. I meant what I said._

_Do you really love him though?_

_Read my last text, Ann. That should be answer enough. Talk to me when you've got your head out of your ass._

He put his phone away again and this time absolutely refused to check the new messages coming in. Akira probably wouldn't be texting him again anytime soon so there wasn't a serious need to keep checking and Akechi would probably be at work as well. Or maybe school? He didn't actually know Akechi's school schedule in relation to his work schedule. He should probably find that out actually...

Once school let out he checked his messages and pointedly ignored the ones he received from Ann. There was one from Akira asking what he wanted to watch after school and one from Akechi asking if he maybe wanted to get together and do something for his birthday in two weeks. Without thinking Ryuji immediately answered yes and promised to get him a birthday present. What, he wasn't entirely sure, but he would figure something out.

When Akira stepped out of the doors beside Ryuji he immediately reached over to twine their pinkies together gently as they walked off. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Ann watching them with pursed lips and felt a small bit of guilt settle in his gut. Maybe snapping like that wasn't the best thing but Ann being so pushy with him just upset the hell out of him. Akira was easily the best thing to happen to him in a long time and goddammit he was happy. Fuck Ann for trying to kill that joy for him.

As always the ramen was delicious, the conversation pleasant and relaxing. Ryuji pointedly avoided bringing up anything Ann had said to him or his very awkward but honestly true admission of his feelings for Akira as well. That was a can of worms he'd rather not crack open just yet. Saying something too soon might make things awkward. When they left their pinkies curled together again, a subtle enough gesture that it made Ryuji's heart swell in joy. They settled on a few older black and white movies that looked dumb enough that they could keep as background noise if they wanted to before heading back to Leblanc for the evening. He'd let Yuuki know that he wouldn't be coming home for until later and made sure the door would be unlocked for him.

They settled in almost immediately after getting upstairs, Akira sprawled out on the couch with Ryuji laying on top of him, idly watching the movie and occasionally spouting off some dumb joke that made Ryuji giggle. One arm was wrapped around the blond's chest, the other settled around his waist. The pressure on his chest for once came not from his heart but from the solid weight of another person weighing him down in the most pleasant sense of the word. The smile that curled his lips felt warm and soft.

Ryuji tried to push the negative thoughts away but it seemed they were hellbent on ruining the peace and quiet for him. Guilt had planted itself firmly in his brain, a voice telling him that he cared much for Akechi than he did Akira. That the love he felt for Akechi had swelled over the years from seeing him transform into a charming young man that could make Ryuji's knees go weak, while the love he felt for Akira had grown so quickly he couldn't quite place when it had reached the strength it had. The same voice prodded the sore wound of Akira being an easy option over and over again to try and force him to agree that yes, this was why he settled for Akira. Because he would never be able to have Akechi as his the way he wanted.

_No_ , he insisted to that stupid voice. _I'm with Akira because he's a good guy. Like I told Ann. So fuck off._ He shifted around slightly in his position to get a little bit more comfortable and hoped that maybe it would help to get rid of that stupid voice in his head. Beneath him Akira made a questioning noise and raised his head for Ryuji to see the worried look on his face.

“Don't worry. Just trynna get comfy dude,” Ryuji said, and Akira hummed before letting his head drop back down onto the pillow and focusing his attention back on the movie. Ryuji huffed and did the same, one of his hands settling onto the one around his chest. The voice crept back up again and began whispering to him that he should have confessed to Akechi instead and why didn't he? It would have been fine.

Because Akechi wouldn't have said yes. Why would he have? Akechi deserved better than Ryuji in someone to be with. Plenty of girls flocked to him and flirted with him and made it very well known that they wanted to be with him. It was only a matter of time before one of them finally actually caught his attention. Why should Ryuji make things awkward between himself and Akechi by confessing? They had such a good friendship already and Ryuji really didn't want that to fall apart. The guilt would be something he assumed he would have to live with for as long as the feelings refused to leave, but perhaps being with Akira would help that. This understanding, this insistence with himself, helped to ease the tension in his shoulders and allowed him to simply enjoy being cuddled up to Akira like this.

Akira...Akira wasn't quite so lucky. Even with the comforting weight of his boyfriend laying on him, the thoughts wouldn't stop. Peace and quiet seemed to be something far, far away from him right now. At the forefront of his mind was Akechi. The betrayal, more specifically. They'd had a thing going, a pretty damn good thing if Akira were being completely honest with himself, and instead of keeping it up he decided to throw it all away on a relationship that shouldn't have even happened. That wouldn't have even happened if Akira had been able to get his stupid fucking emotions under control like Minato could. Fuck, why did he have to fucking have emotions?

**crack**

The pressure to keep Ryuji happy while they were together weighed heavy on his mind too. The poor guy had been through so much already and one small slip could send him tumbling back to some dark place Akira didn't know existed. Even with the gentle feeling of Ryuji laying against his chest, the steady thump of the blond's heart against the palm of his hand, the soft little giggles that bordered on snorts Ryuji would sometimes make during a particularly cheesy part of the movie, he still honestly felt like...like maybe he wasn't good enough for Ryuji. That he was maybe playing second fiddle to a person that Ryuji had placed on a pedestal that Akira could never hope to even come close to.

**crack**

And Futaba, god, she couldn't be any older than him. No way in hell. If he had to hazard a guess he would say she was fifteen at the absolute most, almost assuredly leaning more towards fourteen. Meaning that she'd been twelve fucking years old when she began helping him out. So young, so small. She shouldn't have been in contact with him, she shouldn't have been so nonchalant with him and his work. He never once thought she was so young. She seemed so much older than she was, so much more mature. She'd lost her mother when she was young and had sent Joker after the guy who did it without seemingly batting an eyelash. How could someone like her, who seemed so sweet and caring, find it in themselves to let another person die like that?

**crack**

The movie ending and the credits playing was the only thing that pulled him back to the present. He'd been zoning out a lot like this lately, hadn't he? Perhaps it was time he looked into seeing a doctor about this or something. His back ached, his leg muscles had gone stiff and numb, and the pain in his chest now felt extremely real from having another person laying on him for so long. Ryuji had dozed off by this point, and when Akira shook him to wake him up he let out another of those cute little snorts and blinked the sleep out of his eyes slowly. A jaw-cracking yawn followed afterwards.

“Mmmm...'d I fall asleep 'r somethin'?” he muttered while rubbing at his eyes. “Shit man, 'm sorry...” Akira laughed and leaned forward to brush his lips softly against Ryuji's eyebrow. The vibrations felt nice against Ryuji's back and pulled a soft, contented hum from him.

“You're fine, Ryuyu. You weren't asleep that long.” A lie, Akira figured he'd been out for the better part of a half hour, but he didn't want to make Ryuji feel awful. His hand raised up to gently stroke his thumb across Ryuji's cheek before he leaned in for a gentle kiss. Ryuji leaned into it happily and set a hand on Akira's shoulder to keep himself from lurching forward too far. When they broke apart his lips pulled back in a soft smile that reminded Akira of bright sunshine.

“Mmmm...good. Think I may need to...to head home now though,” he said with another yawn. Very slowly he rolled over off the couch, taking a moment to completely wake himself up, and rubbed harder at his eyes to combat the blurriness with questionable results. After taking a good few moments to reorient himself he scooped up his bag from beside the stairs and waved goodbye to Akira before heading down and out of the cafe. This left Akira laying on the couch, one arm over his eyes, taking deep slow breaths to keep some semblance of calm left in his mind. He slid off the couch as well and began trudging downstairs to clean up and lock the cafe, switching the television on for background noise as he worked.

It took him a long while before he finally had everything ready for bed. After the lights had been shut off and the door had been locked he turned to carry himself upstairs before stopping at the sound of scratching on the glass door. He groaned low in the back of his throat and turned around to immediately unlock the door and open it for Morgana to come winding himself inside.

“Stupid cat...maybe I should start leaving my window open so you can come and go as you please,” he muttered and relocked the door. Morgana answered him with a chirp and began trotting up the stairs in front of him, hopping up onto the bed and looking at him expectantly. Unsure of what he wanted and too tired to think about it he slid into bed and pulled the covers up over his chest. The moment he found himself comfortable he felt a weight settle on his chest, this one considerably lighter than Ryuji's was. The pressure felt nice honestly, like a comforting hand resting on him. For just a little bit he could forget about the weight of the world around him and found himself drifting off to a somewhat comfortable sleep with the soft purrs of the cat situated on his chest working as a lullaby.

 

The studio lights were already beginning to give Akira a headache, and they'd only been there for five minutes. The class trip was already turning out to be a bust, not that he was honestly surprised. Taking a trip to a TV studio wasn't really what people might call entertaining? He'd heard Minato talk about their school trip being farther away than this, and they even got to enjoy hot springs. What kind of bullshit was this? He felt at this point that he should just really complain to someone about it, maybe even Kobayakawa himself. If it got any where though he'd probably have a heart attack.

“Go-chan's supposed to be on today,” Ryuji said from his left. “He's backstage right now. Says he already feels too hot and he ain't even out here. Asked him if he wanted to do something after school since we missed his birthday yesterday 'nd he said sure. Wanna head to Leblanc and shoot the shit there? Might be kinda cramped, but I don't think he'd want ramen for his birthday, ya know?” Akira hummed in thought, the hand closest to Ryuji reaching out to take his and squeeze it. Maybe things would be okay between them. Maybe it wouldn't be completely and painfully awkward to be around Akechi after what happened between them. Besides...he'd gotten the bastard a birthday present too. Might as well give it to him while he could.

“Yeah, sure. Long as we keep it down I don't think Boss will mind us hanging out upstairs. I just don't know how comfortable he'll be up there,” he said. The only places to sit were his bed and the couch, and he figured Ryuji would insist on cuddling on at least one of them. He had a chair at his desk but that wouldn't be comfortable at all for Akechi, Oh well. Wherever he and Ryuji weren't Akechi could sit.

“We can sprawl out on your bed. Might not be too comfy but it'll give him a place to sit. Your couch ain't too bad,” Ryuji said. Another hum, and Akira leaned over to rub his head gently against Ryuji's, who laughed softly and squeezed the hand holding his. “Someone's affectionate today. You're like a friggin' cat. 's kinda cute.”

“Please don't call me a cat I've taken in a stray and he drives me nuts. Great cuddler though,” Akira chuckled. Ryuji tapped his hand against Akira's side and snorted as they finally filed off to their seats for the segment. “Not as great as you though.” His lips pulled up in a wicked grin at the bright flush that settled on Ryuji's face. One of his favorite things lately had been to make Ryuji blush whenever he could, and it was endearingly easy to make it happen. “Cuuuuute~”

“Shut up Aki-chan,” Ryuji muttered and smiled. Akira leaned over and very softly brushed a kiss to his cheek as the host stepped out on stage. Their hands stayed clasped together between their seats. The anxiety that bubbled inside of him seemed to simmer down a little bit when Ryuji held his hand like this, or when they were cuddling, or when they kissed. In fact everything seemed to shut off for a little bit whenever he and Ryuji kissed. Maybe...maybe he would be okay.

Akira's phone vibrated in his pocket and without thinking he pulled it out to check the notification and found a new message from Futaba.

_You got your reply. Have you seen the news article?_

_What? News article? Reply? Fuck you mean Crow don't you._

_Yep. Here's the link._

The next message contained a link to a news station who had been the first to report on the apparent Crow kill that Akira had literally no goddamn idea about. No pictures of the head, of course. There never were.

**Breaking news! Crow's Newest Victim Discovered!**

**The head of Crow's latest victim, CEO of Big Bang Burger Okumura Kunikazu, has been discovered on the steps of the police station. The list of his crimes is being withheld until the claims can be confirmed as always. This time a tarot card of the Fool arcana and two red roses were found laying beside the head. As more information comes in we will continue to update.**

**crack**

Akira set a hand on his forehead gently, swallowing down the blockage in his throat. His chest suddenly felt tight and heavy; a panic attack seemed to be bubbling up inside of him and he knew full well this was the worst possible place to have one. He pulled his glasses off and tucked them into the pocket of his jacket before leaning backwards and forcing himself to just breathe. It seemed like Ryuji completely understood what was going on since he squeezed Akira's hand to provide some sort of grounding, It worked; Akira managed to keep himself from getting sick or lightheaded and avoided making a scene by crying. Once he had completely calmed down Ryuji pulled his hand away to rub it across his back instead.

“You back babe?” he asked, and Akira immediately smiled at the pet name. They'd used their nicknames with each other of course, but never really had pet names for each other like this. Akira admitted he genuinely enjoyed the way it sounded coming from Ryuji's lips.

“...Yeah. Sorry. Don't know what happened there,” he whispered and stuck his glasses back on his face. “Thanks for the help there.” Ryuji smiled at him and squeezed his hand again gently.

“Welcome, man,” he said and leaned back in his seat. “Oh! Go-chan's about to be on!”

At this point Akira checked out of his surroundings and began trying to figure out what he would be able to do now. Akechi had given his response, they were still flirting, that hadn't changed. It was a point of control, a small point of certainty that let him still somehow feel like things were alright. He could figure things out with Crow and keep that going. Nobody ever really said anything about Ryuji anymore, so maybe they could even stop flirting soon. Maybe Akira wouldn't need to send a reply this time to him. Could he get away with that? The sudden stop in responses might keep attention on them as well.

Akira managed to come back to himself after Akechi had finished his segment, coming down to speak with him and Ryuji as they stood up against one of the walls. The bright smile on his face, for once, seemed genuine.

“Hello, Ryuyu. Kurusu. I would have put a bit more effort into my wave some when I noticed you before, but I didn't want you two becoming overwhelmed after all,” Akechi said. When Ryuji leaned forward to hug him a very real look of surprise flitted over his face for a moment before he hugged back. Nobody was around to pay attention to them thankfully.

“I miss you Go-chan. You're always busy, makes me mad. But hey, we're hangin' out in Aki-chan's room today, so there's that! I got you a birthday present too. Dunno if you'll like it though. We can stop 'nd get you a cake from a baker too, if you want,” Ryuji said as he pulled away. Akechi smiled warmly at him and chuckled softly. The sound did something to Akira's heart that he really didn't want to think about right now. That would be rude.

“We don't need to do that much for me, Ryuyu,” Akechi pointed out. Ryuji immediately pouted at him before shaking his head firmly.

“Nu-uh. It's your eighteenth birthday after all! We gotta go all out. C'mon man, just humor me this once,” he begged, bright puppy dog eyes out in full-force, and Akechi never stood a chance. His shoulders drooped and his head hung low in defeat.

“Fine...if you insist.”

“I do! Let's meet up at Shujin once school lets out. Then we can go pick your cake out 'nd head to Leblanc! Akira's got some stupid black and white movie we can watch 'nd rip on the whole time. Oh crap, we gotta stop by Yuuki's place first though, so I can get Go-chan's present. Shouldn't take us too long,” he said.

“I admit, I am rather curious about what you've decided to get me,” Akechi said with a warm and friendly smile. “I'm sure it's something I'll love. You always seem to know what to get me.”

“What kinda friend would I be if I didn't?” Ryuji pointed out. The entire time his fingers had stayed wrapped around Akira's, helping to keep him from wandering off into his own mind. He picked up bits and pieces of Akechi's and Ryuji's conversation as they spoke, really only understanding the smallest bits of it. There was a new novel that had just released last week that he had been wanting to buy and would it be alright if they stopped by the bookstore to grab a copy of it before they sold out? For a split second Ryuji scrambled to deflect the conversation before Akira stepped in and mentioned that he was a bit hungry.

(Ryuji had bought him the damn book, just his luck, and Akechi very nearly ruined the birthday surprise. Go fucking figure.)

Once the trio had met up at Shujin they took a trip to Yuuki's apartment to collect the present, then another to a bakery to get Akechi his cake. Afterwards they descended upon Leblanc's attic in a bubble of laughter and loud jokes that earned them a stern look from Sojiro. Akira had quickly apologized and promised they would keep it down before hushing the other two and pushing them both upstairs as quickly as he could.

After realizing that he'd forgotten a knife to cut the cake with, plates for them to eat on and silverware for them to eat with, he scrambled downstairs to grab everything, offered another apology to Sojiro, and returned back upstairs to their little celebration.

“Sorry we ain't got any candles, but uhhhh...the meanin's still there! Happy birthday, Go-chan!” Akechi laughed and calmly began pulling his gloves off of his hands. Akira's stomach did a flip at the motions.

“You're technically a day late there, Ryuyu, but thank you anyway. I still say you didn't have to go all out for this,” he argued. Birthdays were never really something Akechi considered 'important,' even when his mother had been alive, and over the years they just sort of became something that happened. Another year older, another year of suffering, another year of blood on his hands. He'd received a birthday text from Souji earlier in the day with the promise of a present when he was free, which brought with it a flashback to their last real conversation before he began his training as Crow. He hoped something so traumatic wouldn't happen a second time.

“Yeah, well, you were busy yesterday, so I wanted to do somethin' nice for you. Which is why I got you this,” Ryuji said and held the wrapped book out for Akechi to take. When his fingers brushed against Ryuji's Akira swore he could see a bit of a blush on the brunette's face.

“Thank you Ryuyu, but really, you didn't...” Once he had completely unwrapped the book he stared dumbly at the cover, struck silent by the thoughtful gesture, before his lips raised in another of his rare but oh-so beautifully warm smiles. “Ryuyu you really didn't. This couldn't have been cheap, I...how did you know I wanted it?”

“You always talk about that author a lot. Figured you'd want the next book. Saw when it was gettin' released 'nd did a few little odd jobs to get the cash together for it. That's why I blanked when you asked if we could go get it earlier,” he muttered, and Akira knew there was a blush on his face.

“Thank you. This means a lot to me. I love it,” Akechi said, and Akira could hear the underlying 'I love you' spoken between the words. It made him sick for some reason to hear that. Instead of moping or fixating on the sensations he cleared his throat and looked off to the side in feigned embarrassment.

“Geeze, Ryuyu. Now you made my present look stupid,” he muttered. Akechi's eyes widened a touch in surprise since he hadn't actually expected Akira to get him anything while Ryuji just frowned and pouted at him.

“Don't think like that man. C'mon. I bet he'll like what you got him too,” he said. Akira sighed at that before standing up and moving over to his desk to fish out...

“A cactus?” The surprise left Akechi's eyes now, replaced with what could possibly pass as amusement, or maybe anger. “Why on earth would you get me a cactus?” This time the refusal to meet his eyes stemmed from real embarrassment. He'd thought maybe Akechi would at least make some joke about him being a prick or something. Not sound angry with him. Akira didn't like angry.

**crack**

“You always look lonely. They say plants are a good way to help that. And it's a cactus, so...you don't really have to water it too much. But it's something to...to do. Take care of. And I thought you might like it,” he muttered. No, those weren't tears welling behind his eyes suddenly. No, he wasn't about to break down in front of his ex friend with benefits and his current boyfriend over some goddamn cactus. Fuck how could he have been so stupid to get something like this for Akechi? “I'm sorry. It was stupid.”

“Oh. That's...actually very thoughtful,” Akechi said. For once Akira couldn't read him, so he wasn't sure whether or not Akechi was being sincere or if he was trying to be polite. “I didn't mean to sound angry. I apologize if I did. I was just...surprised that you would get something like that for me.” Akechi's hands slid into his field of vision to take the plant from him and their fingers touched and for a brief moment Akira completely forgot how to breathe. It was the first contact they'd shared since the separation and Akira never really realized just how much he missed it. “Thank you. I was thinking about getting something like this for my apartment. It seems both of you managed to read my mind. Are you sure you aren't psychic?”

“Pretty sure,” Akira said, a weak smile coming up now. _If I was I wouldn't have made this stupid mistake. I would have known what would happen and stopped it._ “Why don't we make ourselves sick on cake and watch a bad movie, hmm?”

“Sounds like a plan to me! You can take the couch, Go-chan. Ain't many other places to sit up here right now. C'mon Akira. I need a chair to sit against,” Ryuji said and beamed at him. Akira found himself moving without really wanting to or meaning to, cutting the cake to serve it and making idle small talk before settling down on his bed with Ryuji between his legs and the blond's back against his chest. One hand idly played in Ryuji's spikes, the other rubbing up and down his side absently. The repetition kept him there and kept him whole.

The cracks had already started, and Akira was much, much closer to breaking than he realized.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm honestly kinda worried this is getting to be too long, but at the same time I love how long it's gotten???? It's great?????????? My GF also says I shouldn't feel bad about how long it is. And I don't foresee this stopping at least another month or two. <3 Can't believe I've been working on this since fucking June though. I also can't believe how much it's blown up in that time. It's wonderful, and we love how much praise and enthusiasm we've gotten with this.  
> Also. Absolute shout out to the user Woooah for calling Souji and Minato fucking seven chapters ago. Yes, I went back to check *exactly* which chapter it was that you said that. Even if you meant it half joking, I want you to know me and my GF cackled for about half an hour because you said that and we found it hilarious someone had already picked up on it.  
> And yes. I couldn't avoid making a reference to Minato and Yosuke sharing a voice actor. Which means they technically sound similar in canon. >:)  
> And good news! I'll be at a con this coming weekend (Konsplosion to be specific) so I'll actually be posting this chapter...2 days early! I'll be uploading it shortly after midnight on Friday. <3

Akechi sipped his cup of tea slowly, enjoying the warmth as it slid down his throat and into his stomach. Today was an off day, neither school nor work for once, and he had every intention of enjoying it to the fullest. Souji had finally come by with his birthday present as well, a small little Shiba Inu statue that he said he found at a store somewhere while chasing after a black and white cat that had a yellow collar. Akechi made a mental note to tell Akira that his cat apparently had a hand in his birthday present being chosen.

Their conversation over tea drifted from topic to topic, eventually settling on Ryuji and Akira's blooming relationship. It hurt like hell honestly (and Akechi swore up and down it was just because of the stupid crush, no not love, even if he sometimes felt certain that's what it was) he carried for Akira and the absolute love he carried for Ryuji. They were two different beasts that would have to learn to play nice together for his sanity.

“It's actually quite funny that you bought me that Shiba Inu statue. The night of Ryuyu's mother's celebration dinner I ended up winning a plush of one from a crane machine. It's wearing a little pirate's coat and sitting on top of a pirate ship. He said he named it William Kidd,” Akechi chuckled. “He told me he looked up famous pirates and liked the sound of the name. I think it's adorable.”

“You think anything he does is adorable, Goro. You love him,” Souji pointed out, much to Akechi's chagrin and embarrassment. The flush that settled on the younger detective's cheeks made Souji chuckle and shake his head. “I think it's...cute. Nice. Reminds me a bit of myself and Yosuke, when he was here.” The blush disappeared from Akechi's face, instead replaced by a rather concerned frown.

“Seta-senpai...how are you...holding up? We haven't spoken much since you told me what happened,” he muttered quietly, unsure if the conversation would progress much further than this. Instead of dodging the question or changing the subject Souji smiled warmly at him.

“It's...hard. But I think I'm finally beginning to come to terms with that happened, and the fact that he's gone. It isn't fair that I keep using him as a crutch when something goes wrong. It...sort of feels like he's finally come home after being away for so long, you know? A strange way of putting it, but it's how I feel,” he explained. “I haven't completely recovered, obviously. I don't think I ever will. But I'm finally beginning to make steps forward the way I know he would want me to.” The one-sided tension in the air immediately dissipated and Akechi allowed himself to relax more, his shoulders dropping down away from his ears.

“I'm glad to hear that, Seta-senpai. I was worried when you disappeared after telling me what happened. I wasn't sure what you would do,” he explained. Having already witnessed one suicide in his life, he wasn't too privy to having someone else so close to him do the same and, he realized bitterly, just because Souji hadn't called him that night from the possibility of a suicide doesn't mean he hadn't ever thought of it since Yosuke's death.

As he took another sip of his tea he realized his cup had gone empty and stood to make himself another.

“Would you like some more tea, Seta-senpai?” he asked. Souji glanced down at his own cup and finished it off before handing it over to Akechi.

“Please. Also could you make a third one? I invited someone over that you might be interested in speaking with,” he said, and Akechi froze mid-movement to stare at Souji like a deer in headlights. Every muscle in his body went tight with fear. Souji hadn't even asked if this would be okay, and he expected Akechi to be completely alright with it?

“Seta-senpai I-”

“Trust me, Goro. You need this,” Souji said, and the sternness in his voice wilted any of Akechi's resolve. Instead of arguing he nodded, took Souji's cup, and carried it into the kitchen to make more tea. “I'm sorry for not asking beforehand, but I felt like you might say no if I tried. And you really need this.”

“I'll trust you, Seta-senpai. May I ask who it is?” Souji chuckled softly behind him.

“You'll find out soon enough. He isn't far from the apartment,” he answered. “He's quiet, but intense. Trust me. This will help you. Almost as much as I think it might help him.” Akechi scowled, not quite sure why Souji would say that, but instead focused on making the tea. “Oh, but he likes his tea sweet. He has a sweet tooth, even if he won't admit it.” Akechi snorted at that and made sure to add plenty of sugar to the tea he ha decided would be his guest's.

“You seem to have a habit of attracting people that like sweets it seems,” he pointed out. Souji stayed quiet for a moment before laughing softly and nodding in agreement.

“It seems to be that way, doesn't it?” he said. “I wonder why that is...” He hummed softly in thought and pulled his phone out to message his expected guest and find out where he was before a few short little knocks sounded from the front door. “Ah. That's him.”

“How can you tell?” Akech asked as he brought all three cups of tea over to his coffee table. Two in front of the couch where Souji sat, one in front of his armchair. He assumed that whoever this guest was would be sitting beside his senpai.

“That's always how he knocks so I know it's him,” Souji explained as he opened the door.

“Souji I saw the cutest cat on my way over here, he was a little fat thing with black and white fur and a yellow collar and-” Akechi froze again, this time out of confusion and perhaps a bit of fear, the rest of the conversation dying out to the pounding in his ears. He couldn't...be hallucinating, right? That...that sounded like Yosuke. Fucking Yosuke. It had been years but he rarely forgot details like that, and he could faithfully replay that voice in his head over and over again without fail. Did he have a brother? Was...was Souji seeing Yosuke's brother or something?

“I saw that cat yesterday, I wonder who owns him?” Souji asked. Akechi couldn't bring himself to turn around and see who Souji had invited over. Seeing whoever this person was...the fact that they sounded almost exactly like Yosuke, he felt no surprise that Souji had gotten interested in them. How long had they been together? Was this a replacement? Souji's way of finally coping?

“My friend.” Akechi cleared his throat but still refused to raise his head or acknowledge the new person in his apartment (and boy did that thought make his skin crawl, having a new person in his apartment that he hadn't ever met before) and instead shuffling off into the kitchen to make something for them to eat. He wasn't that poor of a host, after all. “The cat. My friend owns it. His name is Morgana.”

“Oh, he's such a cute cat...” The voice suddenly changed, almost like the stranger took on a completely different vocal range when he was excited. He suddenly sounded...a bit sleepy, in fact. Much more relaxed than Souji usually sounded. “Maybe I can get him to let me pet him one day.”

“I'm sure you will. I got him to sniff my finger the other day, when I was chasing after him. Well...I say chasing. It was more like I was following him around in an attempt to get him to like me. It didn't work, but I did find Akechi's birthday present,” Souji explained.

“Really? You waited until three days before his birthday to get him a present Souji? Shows how much you care,” the person teased, and now Akechi hummed to himself. Now that he heard the voice speak normally, he felt certain it sounded painfully familiar to him. Curiosity got the better of him and convinced him to turn finally and he found himself staring at Arisato Minato standing in his living room chatting with Souji like they were old friends.

“I wasn't sure what I would get him, honestly. I've been so busy with work that...as awful as it sounds, I only remembered it was Goro's birthday last week,” Souji chuckled. “Oh right. Goro, this is-”

“I know who Arisato-san is,” Akechi said and turned to properly face the three of them now. Minato blew his hair off to the side a bit, not even bothering to try moving it again when it fell back in front of his eye, and waved lazily to Akechi. “Forgive me, but may I ask why you're here?”

“Souji told me you're upset about something and could use a bit of uplifting. Not sure why he thinks that I'm the best person to ask for this, but he did,” Minato pointed out and dropped down onto the end of the couch. He leaned forward to grab a cup of tea before Souji's hand reached down to push his over to the other cup. “Oh thank you. Lots of sugar, correct?”

“I'm sure Akechi put in enough sugar for you,” Souji teased and took his seat down beside Minato. “He likes sweet things just as much as you do.”

“Oh good. Have you both finished what you wanted from the cake? I'm hungry,” Minato said as he took a sip of tea. He popped his lips and hummed in appreciation at the taste. He then looked up to Akechi and shot a warm smile at him. “The tea is wonderful, Akechi. Definitely sweet enough.”

“No, we haven't finished the cake, you will get what we haven't eaten I promise,” Souji huffed at him and took his own cup to drink from. “Akechi why don't you sit down and talk with us for a little bit? Don't worry about feeding Minato, he'll eat you out of your apartment if you try.”

“I don't eat that much Souji,” Minato said and swatted at him. “Even if Junpei jokes that I'm a black hole.” As Akechi took his seat in his armchair Souji let out a laugh and turned to look at Minato, who fixed him with the most emotionless stare Akechi had probably seen in his life up to that point. “What?”

“He isn't joking that you're a black hole Minato, you _are_ one. I remember when I took you out for lunch in Inaba two months ago, I would have had to empty my wallet out almost completely to feed you, and you still insisted on stopping for a croquette when we left Aya,” Souji pointed out. Minato rolled his eyes, the most emotion Akechi had seen him show as of yet, and took another sip of tea.

“Don't exaggerate Souji. I didn't eat that much. But I'm not here to debate my supposed eating habits. I'm here to talk to the kid,” he said. His head tilted a little bit, the hair over his eye falling away a little bit. The lack of emotion on his face refused to allow Akechi to read his expression, giving him the impression that Minato didn't really ever emote much. Which was strange, as every picture he remembered seeing of Minato he was always smiling or laughing or something normal. “Souji told me you've been having problems.”

“They're petty relationship problems. I don't even know why I'm letting them get to me,” Akechi admitted awkwardly. “I feel this was hardly appropriate to invite Arisato-san here for, and-”

“Minato.” Akechi's voice stopped in his throat, his brows furrowing a touch in confusion now.

“Excuse me?”

“Call me Minato. I have a feeling we're gonna be seeing a lot more of each other now,” Minato pointed out. “Though I suppose I shouldn't call you a kid, should I? You are eighteen now. Happy belated birthday, by the way.” Another short laugh as Akechi tried to bury himself in his tea to hide from the embarrassment. Why he felt it he wasn't sure; maybe the fact that he was about to discuss his jealousy for his ex fuckbuddy and best friend getting together? “Your face is red.”

“Don't tease him, Minato, this is really sensitive for him,” Souji warned and nudged his companion. “I didn't bring you here to embarrass him.”

“Fine. Geeze Souji, calm down,” Minato said and set his cup of tea down on the table in front of him just as Akechi went to take another sip. “Good job on your work, by the way. Flirting with Joker seems to be working out well for you two.”

The moment Akechi began choking on his tea Souji shot out of his seat and over, patting and rubbing his back and trying to coax him into just breathing as Minato stayed on the couch watching with complete disinterest it seemed. A good bit of Akechi's tea spilled out of his cup and onto his lap, thankfully avoiding the carpet and the expensive material of the chair he sat in, before Souji could set the cup on a coaster and continued to help Akechi through his freakout.

“Dammit Minato, you couldn't have waited to say something until he wasn't drinking?” Souji sighed; Minato's reply came in the form of him ever so gently raising an eyebrow at him and letting the barest hint of a smile on his lips. “Don't kill him...”

“Wouldn't be the first person I've killed,” Minato said and let himself sprawl out on the couch. “Ooohhh, this is nice...a lot more comfortable than Junpei's or Akihiko's couches.” Souji's eyes rolled this time, so much more emotion in them than Minato had shown. After another couple of moments helping coax Akechi's lungs into working like they were supposed to he looked over to Minato with a very unflattering laugh and his eyes darting everywhere around his living room except actually at his guest.

“Wh-what? That...that makes it sound like I'm Crow or something. I...I'm not-”

“Souji told me everything. He's pretty chatty after sex.” Akechi whined as his brain shut off and his hands raised up to cover his face. He didn't want to involved in Souji's sex life dammit. He didn't want to be having this conversation either. “Did you know that you can get him to shut up and stop talking if you scratch about half an inch below the edge of his hairline on the back of his neck? It usually puts him to sleep after like a minute or so.”

“Minato. Back on track please,” Souji sighed. Minato blinked and raised his head up to look at Souji.

“Oh. Right. Sorry. I meant what I said though. It might not be the brightest idea in the world, but it seems to be working. Almost every time I watch the news or something almost all I see is speculation about you and Joker. If you really know each other, why you're flirting, when you'll hook up, even if that's already happened and the right question is 'when will you hook up again?' but they don't need to know that.” He sat up and flopped over onto his stomach and looked up at Akechi with his head propped on his hand. “You're doing a good job. I can see why Souji is proud of you.”

“He's...proud of me?” Akechi whispered in disbelief and awe. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Souji nod before sitting down next to Minato again, forcibly swatting his feet off the couch before letting them come back to rest in his lap. “Wait how much does Minato know? Why does he know anything?”

“A good chunk of things. He left out some of it, said it wasn't his place to tell me, but he told me a lot. And I know things because Souji trusts me. We're the same after all,” Minato explained as he squirmed around on the couch to get a bit more comfortable. “Pleased to meet you, Crow. Consider yourself lucky for having personally meet Reaper, even if I am in my 'golden years.' That's such a stupid fucking concept, though. What's so 'golden' about this?”

“That mostly refers to old age, Minato, and you're not even thirty yet,” Souji pointed out. “Not necessarily for people that have retired I don't think.” Minato shrugged in answer and let his eyes slip closed. His hands settled across his chest like he was getting ready for a burial.

“Ex...cuse me. Reaper? You're...you're really him?” Akechi asked with a bit of awe in his voice. “Please forgive me for being a bit skeptical, but you...don't seem like you would fit the profile.” Souji let out a soft laugh at that and looked over to Akechi with amusement in his eyes.

“And you think I do? Or yourself? Or Joker?” he asked seriously. The lack of immediate response from the detective gave him his answer. “Trust me. He's the real deal. I wouldn't have told him about you if he wasn't.” Letting out a soft sigh Akechi let his fingers clasp together, putting on his porcelain smile. Really, Souji was worrying too much.

“I'm perfectly fine, Seta-senpai. Inviting Arisato-san-” Minato groaned from his place on the couch at that, he'd told Akechi to call him Minato dammit. “-was a complete waste of time. As I said, these are simply petty relationship problems that I hardly suspect he will be able to help with.”

“You'd be surprised how much I know about trying to move on after someone,” Minato said to him. Now he pulled himself up into a sitting position, legs still resting in Souji's lap, and turned to give Akechi a barely noticeable stern expression. “You're caught up on Joker's new relationship because he's with your childhood best friend. Right?”

“...Correct.”

“And you're caught up about it because you love them both. Right?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Minato paused, obviously trying to decide whether or not to prod about the 'unfortunately' part of that statement before letting it drop in lieu of continuing his line of questioning.

“And you can't just not love either of them, obviously.” This prompted Akechi to turn his head to the side, eyes cast down at the floor, a painful look on his face that Souji really didn't want to see right now. “You just can't ignore your emotions. That could cause problems.”

“Easy for you to say. You don't seem to _have_ any emotions,” Akechi snapped far more forcefully than he probably should have. That dead look across Minato's face didn't change, but for some reason Akechi thought maybe he could see a hint of irritation somehow.

“...I'm going to ignore that comment because I don't think Souji would be happy if I said anything. So I'm going to continue what I was saying and you're going to listen. You obviously can't stop loving them both. But keep this in mind. Loving them gives you the power to destroy them, as much as they have the power to destroy you.” Akechi felt his brows furrow in confusion at the strange piece of advice, not quite sure what Minato meant by that and honestly a touch too tired and upset to try and figure it out. “Ah...Akechi looks kind of tired. I don't think we should stick around too much longer.”

“You're just saying that because you want cake, Minato,” Souji teased with a soft smile. “Fine. Goro, do you want to save any of the pieces for yourself?” Akechi's head shook softly from side, a hand reaching up to fiddle with a long strand of hair that had fallen into his face. One of the few nervous tics he still carried over from his younger days and one he desperately wished he could get rid of. Thankfully it only ever seemed to present itself with Souji around. “Fine then. Have at it.”

Akechi watched in what could arguably be horror as Minato took two-thirds of a full-sized cake, brought the entire plate it had been set on over to him along with a fork, and began devouring it almost without chewing or swallowing. Souji seemed completely unperturbed by this, instead focusing on cleaning up from the tea and cake and making sure he didn't leave anything behind. The entire process, both Minato inhaling the cake and Souji double checking everything, took only roughly three minutes. Minato licked his lips calmly once he had finished the last small piece of cake to ensure he had gotten every bit of frosting before carrying the plate off into the kitchen to rinse off.

Once the absolute shock of watching Minato eat a cake that would normally have taken Akechi far too long to eat he turned his attention back to Souji, who stood in the doorway of his apartment to wait for Minato.

“Seta-senpai, I...I'm not quite sure I understand what Arisato-san meant. I really don't. Do you?” he asked. Souji's response was to shrug gently and flash a warm and comforting smile at him.

“Minato always has this...cryptic way of speaking. It always makes sense when it's supposed to. A special talent of his, I've noticed. It frustrates me just as much as it frustrates you, so don't worry,” Souji chuckled. When Minato stepped over to him he patted the smaller on the shoulders and very gently guided him out of the apartment before he popped his head back inside.

“Oh, I'm sorry I didn't bring you a present, but I promise I'll be back later to bring you one. I'm not heartless. Well...that heartless,” he corrected, and Souji laughed softly before swatting Minato on the shoulder and shoving him completely out of the apartment. The door shut behind them with a soft click, leaving Akechi alone with more confusion and frustration than he had before the visit.

Why couldn't things be simple with Souji?

 

Akira threw his phone across the counter of Leblanc and buried his face into his arms in an attempt to hold back tears. Akechi had messaged him asking about their study group and Akira had sent him back some flirty little message that apparently went over his head completely, as he didn't respond to it and simply insisted that Akira stop playing around.

He wondered if Akechi even understood what flirting was. And then he kicked himself in the ass because he was with Ryuji know, he shouldn't be flirting with Akechi anymore.

He really was almost on the verge of tears. Between the struggle of understanding and coming to terms with his feelings, Ryuji asking him out, and Akechi suddenly giving him the cold shoulder while still insisting on flirting with him as Crow, his life was beginning to fall apart faster and faster. Holding it together was his only option though. Ryuji had been through enough, he didn't need an emotional boyfriend added to the mess.

When the bell over the door chimed he raised his head and put on his best customer service smile before letting it drop at the sight of Minato standing just inside the door with his hands shoved into his pockets. He started to make some joke about Minato leaving before he even stepped inside, but somebody else decided to follow in after him and let the door shut behind him.

“Hey runt. How are things with you?” Minato hummed as he walked over and slid into one of the seats. “Anything interesting happen?”

“Not really, no. And don't call me runt, I'm like three inches taller than you remember?” Akira teased, laughing a little bit when Minato stuck his tongue out in response to that. “Can I ask who your friend is?”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Seta Souji.” He took a seat beside Minato, eyes rolling around the room and obviously trying to take everything in. The TV on the far wall had been switched on to some children's show for background noise. When Akira went to turn it off his phone vibrated at the end of the counter, prompting Minato to reach over and unlock it.

“...Futaba says not to turn the TV off. She's watching it,” he answered calmly before setting his phone back down. Akira huffed at that and walked back over to his place behind the counter. Outside near the door a bird chirped; upstairs Morgana mewled to get his owner's attention. “I think you should go feed your cat.”

“I think that cat needs to take a trip outside and go find someone else to feed him for once,” Akira muttered as he reached underneath the counter to fish out a can of cat food. “Someone, whose name I will not say but can hear me, got him hooked on sushi, and now getting him to eat cat food is a hassle. I almost guarantee you I'll put this down, he'll sniff it, then run off to go find someone else to pity him and share their food.” He stomped upstairs and left the other two down below with his phone. When it went off again Minato reached over to unlock it and check the message, pausing a moment when he saw it.

_Ryuyu <3 <3 <3  
Go-chan just messaged me. He said he's pretty busy and probably won't make it to our study group Saturday. Wanna just go on a date instead? Yuuki's parents gave me some pocket change for doin' some chores around the house. I can actually pay for us both this time!_

“Well now I feel bad,” he muttered as he set the phone back facedown. He'd gotten so used to having free access to Akira's phone that he completely ignored the fact that Akira now had a boyfriend. Meaning he would have private messages that nobody but the two of them were meant to see, and that snooping around even by accident as he had been would be rude. He made a mental note to apologize once Akira came back downstairs.

When he turned to strike up a conversation he found his companion staring intently at the stairs, hand twitching just a bit every time he heard the cat meow. Minato sighed and hung his head softly, a small smile on his lips.

“Yes. That would be the cat you chased, and the cat that I saw. His name is Morgana, and he is apparently very chatty,” Minato said. After a moment's thought he decided to ask, “Why haven't you gotten a cat of your own yet?”

“Aaaahhhh...I'm so busy going around that I wouldn't have time to properly take care of one. I'm almost always gone and it wouldn't be fare to the cat if it spent most of its time alone. If I had someone living with me that would be a different story. But I don't. So I don't own a cat yet,” Souji answered. “Maybe I should ask your friend Junpei if he's looking for a roommate. We're both lonely, and could both probably benefit from having a roommate.”

“If you're thinking of trying to seduce Junpei then I'd stop barking up that tree. He's straight,” Minato said. Souji shrugged and turned back around in his seat as Akira began taking the steps down two at a time.

“That actually wasn't my intention, surprisingly enough, but it's good to know that I know two straight people instead of just one,” he chuckled.

“And since I've met Teddie that means I know three,” Minato added with a smirk. “So I know more.”

“When did you two decide to have a competition about how many straight people you know?” Akira asked as he leaned against the counter. “And also, can I ask how you two met and why you decided to bring him here?” There was noway these two were together. Not after the conversation he had with Minato about... Well, he'd rather not think about that honestly. That conversation still left his gut churning at the memory of it.

“There is no competition, I was just making a bad joke. And we met one night because he sounded like someone that I knew,” Souji admitted. At the beginning of their...whatever the hell it was Minato had found it a sore spot that the only reason Souji noticed him was because he sounded like the love of his life, but over the years he's come to find it an endearing point of charm that made his heart warm. Unfortunately there had been plenty of slip-ups where he had been called Yosuke instead of Minato, but he rolled with the punches easily enough. Minato could now say with absolute certainty that Souji hadn't tried to call him Yosuke in almost four months. A nice record, if he were being honest with himself.

“And I decided to bring him here to give you advice about your...relationship problems,” Minato butted in. “Since you have a habit of not understanding the advice I give you.” Akira snorted and let his arms cross on the wood in front of him.

“That's because you're about as cryptic as some TV villain whose grand plan only gets revealed in the last three episodes of the show, makes no damn sense, and is only there to provide background and a promise of a season two,” he answered calmly. After hesitating a moment he slapped a hand down on the counter and straightened himself up. “And if you're going to give me relationship advice then you have to buy something. Boss will get mad if he shows up and you two are just sitting here talking my ears off. He does have a business to run.”

“So pushy. I wonder where he got that from?” Souji asked with all the subtlety of an elephant standing in a field. Minato's eyes rolled back into his head in playful annoyance before he turned completely to glare at Souji.

“I am not pushy, Souji.”

“Tell that to all the times you've gotten angry at me when I took too long getting ready,” Souji countered easily. Now Minato looked honestly offended and let out a breath in annoyance.

“I'm sorry, when you've been teasing me for almost an entire hour it's a little bit hard not to get annoyed that you're taking damn near twenty minutes to stretch yourself when all I wanna do is drop you on the damn bed and-” Akira coughed, reminding them that they weren't actually alone in their little argument, and immediately Souji's face lit up in embarrassment. When Minato turned back to Akria he smiled warmly and added, “You know what I like to drink. Souji will take his coffee with cream and sugar. Nowhere near as sweet as mine, though.”

“Every time I make your coffee I worry I'll get diabetes by association. Is that a thing? I feel like it is,” Akira said and turned to start making their coffees. While they waited Souji cleared his throat and cast a quick glance towards the stairs.

“I met your cat,” he said calmly. Minato heard that tinge of an excited tone in his voice and immediately let his lips curl upwards. “He's pretty.”

“That's Souji-speak for 'please let me pet your cat it looks so soft and fluffy.'” Souji groaned and shoved his face down into the counter to hide from Akira and Minato. If he could crawl inside a hole somewhere and pretend to stop existing he would absolutely love to. “You know I'm right.”

“I know you're right but that doesn't mean I'm any less embarrassed,” Souji defended. “...But really. Can I pet your cat?” Minato burst into full-belly laughter that made Akira stare in amazement and happiness. He hadn't heard Minato laugh like this since his training days, when he would flub something. Seeing Minato happy like this made his chest burn warmly.

“Morgana's pretty picky actually. Don't think he'll let you pet him,” he explained. Minato very gently patted Souji's shoulder before reaching down to rub his back softly.

“It's okay. You'll pet the cat one day.” Souji immediately swatted his arm and let out a disgruntled sound in frustration, which only made Minato laugh harder.

Maybe...maybe they really were together...? They seemed to be flirting with each other pretty heavily. Minato knew how Souji took his coffee and knew about his strange obsession with cats. They felt comfortable enough to tease each other about these things as well. It reminded him of his relationship with Ryuji and how quickly they'd fallen into pace with each other. It brought a smile to his eyes and made him giggle softly. Completely uncharacteristic obviously, as Minato looked over to him with slightly quirked eyebrow.

“Any reason you sound like a schoolgirl Akira?” he asked pointedly. When Akira cleared his throat and grabbed his phone as a crutch Minato just smirked and leaned back in his seat nonchalantly. “You have a message from Ryuyu by the way.”

“D-don't go snooping through my phone anymore! I have a boyfriend now, and there might be...things...that you don't need to see,” he muttered. His voice tapered off near the end as he sent a quick reply to Ryuji and pointedly set his phone down away from Minato's grubby little hands. It made sure that he didn't get too interested in the relationship.

“Actually, I brought Souji here to talk to you about your relationship. Well...not necessarily your relationship. Your feelings, mostly.” Slowly Akira turned, a number of emotions plastered across his face and in his eyes, and tilted his head ever so slightly to the right. Confusion poured off of him in waves.

“Why? I'm fine. I've figured everything out finally,” he insisted. When Minato leveled the famous 'I don't believe a damn word you say' look at him he turned away to avoid giving a response and focused on the coffee instead. This was definitely not how he pictured his Saturday morning to go honestly.

“No. You haven't. I'm not stupid, Akira. You still love Crow and-” When Akira dropped the cup all three of them jumped in surprise and Akira let loose with another uncharacteristic sound, this one being a very deep and very loud swear. He ripped his apron off and forcibly threw it at Minato's face before running to grab the broom from the supply closet to being sweeping up the broken shards of the cup.

“Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit this isn't good Boss is gonna kill me for breaking a cup I was doing so good he was starting to like me and now he's gonna kick me out and I won't have any place to go and-” Hands settled on either side of his face to squeeze his cheeks together and force deep gray to lock with deep blue. “Senpai...?”

“Breathe. Focus on me. Remember your breathing. In, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven, out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. In, two, three, four, out, two, three, four, five...” This continued for several tense moments until Akira's shoulders visibly drooped and his eyes slipped closed slowly. “Are you finally back?” A slow nod came in response, and Minato very gently wiped the tears underneath his cheeks away. “I promise you. Sojiro won't get angry for you breaking one cup. I'll take responsibility, it was my fault anyway.”

“But I...dropped the cup...” Fog clung thick to his brain and slurred his words slightly as he spoke. “Because...w-wait. Wait Senp-Minato I mean, why did you say that!? I don't know why you would, I-”

“I told Souji. He's like us. Well...not exactly like us. But he understands. You don't have to worry about that. Promise.” The hand running through his hair continued to ground him and cleared the mire out enough to let him speak.

“What do you mean? He's...”

“Killed before? I have, yes,” Souji answered as he finished tossing the broken pieces of glass away. Had he been cleaning the glass up while Akira was out of it? Now he felt awful and guilty for what he'd done. “Minato seems to not understand the meaning of the word 'tact' however. Maybe I should have a conversation with him about that.”

“Maybe you should let me tease my student instead, hmm?” Minato hummed at him. “Let's put a hold on the coffee until after we've had our discussion, okay?” Akira nodded again slowly and allowed himself to be guided around to sit in between his mentor and his...new friend.

“I...I love Ryuyu. But...Crow...I'm so confused,” Akira admitted finally. “What do I do? I feel like I'm hurting Ryuji by not giving him everything. If I tell him about this I don't know how he'll react.” Minato began rubbing his back in soft encouraging circles to urge him on. “I hope I can just...forget this. Forget the way I feel about Crow and just...not love him. That's possible right?” Souji and Minato both began laughing softly at that, which confused Akira even further.

“No. Akira. You can't. It isn't that easy. If you can stop loving somebody then you obviously didn't really love them. And it's obviously tearing you up.” Souji set his hands in front of him and went silent for a few moments in thought. “I'm not sure how much help this will be. But...my advice to you is to cherish the people you love, no matter how hard it is. Once they're gone...” His voice petered out to nothing, coaxing Minato into leaning over and rubbing his shoulder reassuringly. Akira watched him begin spinning a set of double rings on one of his fingers absently.

Akira didn't understand how somebody so emotive could ever be a killer. Minato had drilled it into his head that showing emotions was a bad thing and could get him caught or cause him to stumble. He'd perfected his poker face almost completely at the behest of his mentor and this guy wore his heart on his sleeve so openly. Well...on his hand obviously, and even if Akira didn't understand it he wore it around his neck as well. A stark contrast to himself and Minato.

“I do, however, have one stern warning for you, Joker,” Souji said. His voice took on an icy edge that made a full-body shiver run up and down his spine as Souji turned to him with equally icy eyes. “If you ever. Turn out like the Inaba Ripper. I will personally kill you. Do I make myself clear?” Akira laughed nervously, immediately turning to Minato for guidance and instead finding him giving Akira an equally cold stare. The one visible eye held no sympathy for him suddenly.

“U-ummm...okay,” he muttered nervously and began twisting his fingers nervously. “I promise I won't. But...wh-”

“Kid? Can I ask why you're sitting and chatting with two of my customers instead of serving them?” Akira squeaked nervously and jumped out of his seat almost too fast, nearly slipping on a shoelace and flopping onto his back. Sojiro crossed his arms and tapped his foot as further encouragement for Akira to get the hell behind the counter and start making their orders.

“Don't blame him, it was our fault. I was introducing him to my friend. Don't worry, we'll more than make up for keeping him busy. Souji and I will be here for a long while.” Akira whined softly in defeat and looked over to Minato pleadingly, who only struck up a new conversation with Souji on some benign topic that couldn't keep his attention even if he wanted to with Sojiro breathing down his neck.

 

When Souji opened the door to his apartment he calmly flicked a light on and toed his shoes off in the entryway. His jacket went up on a peg, his feet carried him over to his couch, and his body fell down with a resounding 'thump.' Laughter from his doorway made him raise his head and watch Minato come striding in to his living room and calmly flopped himself on the small of Souji's back.

“If you're going to sit there then please start giving me an actual back massage?” he groaned. Instead Minato shuffled around and fished his phone out.

“In a minute. I need to check in on Akira. He sent me a text about five minutes ago.”

“Fine, but don't take too long please...”

_Hey Senpai. Why did Seta-san give me that warning...?_

Minato bounced back and forth between telling Akira some roundabout answer or telling him directly, and decided that for once in his life he could avoid dancing around the subject.

_The Inaba Ripper killed his lover out of jealousy. He wanted to be with Souji and was jealous that Souji was seeing somebody else._

_...You're fucking kidding me._  
Are you serious?????  
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit that's terrifying.  
And he said he's killed before????? Why didn't you step in. 

_Because honestly I would let him if you ever turned out like that scum. He got what he deserved when Souji murdered.  
Oh right. How did you enjoy meeting the Perfectionist today?_

_Wait what? Who are you talking about?_  
Wait.  
WAIT.  
THAT GUY WAS THE PERFECTIONIST!? 

_Yes he was. Surprising isn't it? A much different person than everyone thought he was. Though the anal retentiveness is consistent. You should see his apartment. It's cleaner than mine is._

_Honestly I'm more worried about Akechi turning out like the Ripper. I'm with his best friend after all. And the guy he's in love with. Kind of rings a bell doesn't it?_

_You have nothing to worry about. Akechi would never turn out like him. He would rather die than let that happen._

_Huh? Why do you think that?_

_Trust me, Akira. When have I ever lead you astray?_

Minato set his phone down to the side and situated himself so he was gently shoving Souji off the couch and onto the floor, then straddled across his ass and began digging his fingers into the tense muscles all along Souji's back. The appreciative moan made Minato grin and begin to dig in even further. As the tension drained from Souji's muscles he allowed himself to put more and more weight down until he was sitting completely on Souji's backside and shifting his weight around not-so-subtly to get the other's attention.

“Not right now Minato...give me a bit longer,” Souji hummed, and immediately Minato pulled himself back up to his knees to relieve the pressure and keep his growing want to himself. Souji had only just begun to come to terms with Yosuke's death, and the last thing Minato wanted to do was push him before he was ready. When Souji wheezed and waved him off he dragged himself to his feet and allowed Souji to bask in the newfound looseness in his muscles as he went around getting ready for bed. When he finally pulled Souji to his feet a few minutes later he raised an eyebrow in a silent question, which Souji answered with another gentle no. Minato nodded and went to get the spare blanket and pillow Souji kept around just for him and began settling in to his place on the couch.

“How long do you think it'll take the runts to realize who we are to them?” he asked, already feeling sleep clawing its way up to the backs of his eyes. “Which one do you think will figure it out first? My money is on Akechi.”

“My money is on Akechi as well honestly,” Souji chuckled from behind the couch. “Akira...seems a bit dense.” Minato snorted and rolled over so he could lay across the back of the couch and watch Souji change.

“'Dense' is an understatement. He still hasn't figured out Akechi loves him. The only reason he figured out Akechi loves Ryuji is because apparently Akechi called his name out during sex instead of Akira's,” he said, which earned an apologetic hiss from Souji as he pulled his shirt on.

“Oh no. That stings a little bit harder than it honestly should,” he chuckled. He couldn't count the number of times he had let Yosuke's name slip instead of Minato's at the beginning of their arrangement and how embarrassed he felt afterwards. Sometimes he still had to bite his tongue to avoid a slip-up when Minato would get particularly excited. “Then yes. I'm more than willing to bet that Akechi will figure it out first.”

“Care to wager something on that, Souji?” Minato purred with a glint in his eyes. Souji turned to Minato and leaned across the back of the couch beside him.

“And what, pray tel, do you suggest we wager on this?” he asked calmly.”We both agree on the fact that Akechi will figure it out first. What could we possibly bet on?”

“How long it takes him. I say a month.”

“No way. Akechi's smarter than that. I'd give him a week at most.”

“Alright then. Loser has to buy the other dinner.”

“Wha-Minato that costs too much! You'll eat everything in my wallet if you do that!”

“With a spending limit then. We'll agree on the price later when once Akechi figures it out.”

“And if we're both wrong?”

“Whoever was closer has to pay up. If he ends up in the middle we both pay.” Souji sighed and rolled his eyes as he pulled off the back of the couch and went to finish getting ready for bed.

“And if Akira somehow figures it out first?”

“We'll both technically be wrong,” Minato answered him as he settled down onto the couch to get some sleep finally. “But I guess...I'll wear a maid outfit for you when you're up to it.” The choking sound from the bathroom brought a wicked smile to his face as he shoved his face into his pillow and let his eyes slip shut peacefully.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Remember when I mentioned how Akira doesn't understand how to process things normally? And that it was gonna be a big part of what happened for a few chapters? Yeah that starts now. Have fun.  
> Heading off to a con today, so I'm posting the chapter two days early instead of one day late to save myself some sanity and a lot of people some confusion.

Never once in his life did Akechi ever believe he would be taking care of a cactus. He stared at the little potted plant and wondered why the hell Akira had thought to give him one. Was he being called a prick? Callous? Difficult to approach?

He could definitely see that last one actually, now that he thought about it. At this point in his life he wasn't even entirely sure how much of it was habit and how much of it was actually him.

It couldn't be that hard to take care of a stupid cactus though, right? Just water them once a week or something and that would be that. He didn't even know why he was keeping the damn thing. Maybe because Akira had given it to him and this was his way of 'being able to have him,' in a weird sort of fucked up way. If he had meant anything harmful or rude by gifting the plant, well...the detective could and would willingly look past that. For his own sanity's sake, more than anything else.

The plant itself looked very tiny, and after a bit of digging he managed to find a fairly simple guide on how to take care of the stupid thing. He checked the soil and found it just dry enough to warrant a bit of water. He then placed it in his kitchen window, which would give the cactus enough sunlight without scorching it. He made a mental note to rotate it (that would be something he would have to get used to. Akira wasn't kidding when he said cacti were something you actively took care of) and get some fertilizer for it. He wasn't quite sure when this particular cactus would flower, but he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure it actually happened. It had been a birthday present after all.

He remembered the way Akira had suddenly deflated when Akechi looked at him in confusion and couldn't help the small but sad smile creeping up on him. For someone who seemed so capable of reading every little emotion on a person's face, he had definitely read Akechi wrong. Sure, he'd been surprised to be gifted a cactus of all thing, and he definitely didn't understand Akira's intent behind the present, but it had obviously been a well thought-out present. Really, he was actually quite lonely in his apartment and while he did enjoy feline company from time to time he wasn't ready to commit to one of his own. Akira seemed to have enough trouble out of Morgana for the both of them.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he needed to eat, and on a whim he decided to go visit Leblanc. For some reason his tongue decided it wanted curry and absolutely would not take no for an answer. Anything else he tried to decide on sounded extremely unappetizing. He hated it.

The moment he stepped into Leblanc he felt panic surge up from the pit of his stomach. There were no less than six people tucked in one of the booths there, laughing and enjoying themselves, and two of them were the entire reason he had been losing sleep for the better part of a week now. Thankfully they didn't immediately see him when he stepped inside.

Unfortunately, one of the guests did, and immediately perked up.

“Oh! Akechi! We were having a little get-together here today. Why don't you join us?” Yuuki flashed a warm smile that reminded him so much of Ryuji it forced a very physical pain to well up in his chest. At the sound of his name Ryuji immediately turned his head and brightened up.

“Go-chan! C'mon, you should meet some of our friends! Please?” The pleading look in his eyes and tone in his voice made Akechi laugh dryly and set a hand on his arm nervously.

“I...suppose I could potentially sit down and visit with you for a bit. I had planned for today to be a productive day,” he lied. The original plan for today had been 'lay at home like a lazy sleazeball for once and hope Shido didn't want him for anything' but things change easily. “...Ah, well. I suppose I could take one real day off. Seta-san always tells me that I work myself too hard.”

“Yay! Aki-chan, Ann, scoot over,” Ryuji prompted. The both of them calmly smooshed themselves further in to the booth to make just enough room for Akechi to settle in at the edge of the booth.

“I wasn't aware you knew Akechi, Sakamoto. I've only met him a handful of times speaking with my sister.” Akechi flashed a warm smile at Makoto in response and let his hands settle down into his lap where she wouldn't see him fiddle with a loose thread on his gloves.

“I'm surprised to see you here, Nijima. I wasn't aware you were friends with Ryuyu,” he said. Guilt filtered into her eyes for a brief moment before she tamped it down and returned an awkward, crooked smile to him.

“I actually don't know him very well. I spoke with Kurusu for something a few weeks ago, and decided that perhaps I should try and strike up a friendship with him. Sis always says I could use some more friends,” she admitted. She then gestured to the girl sitting beside her and quietly said, “This is my friend. Okumura Haru.”

“Oh. Are you...?” She nodded somberly, her lips pursing softly in a silent plead to drop the topic. Akechi immediately changed the topic of course and instead said, “It's nice to meet you, Okumura. Your sweater is very lovely.”

“Thank you, Akechi. It's nice to meet you too.” The corner of her lip quirked up slightly as she focused her attention back on the cup of coffee in front of her. Akechi glanced across the table to see Yuuki and Yusuke having a quiet chat with each other.

“Oh. Hello, Kitagawa. I don't think we've ever spoken much before now. How is your relationship with Mishima going?” he asked. Suddenly he carried a 'deer in headlights' look as he realized just how much of a faux pas he had actually made, but instead of drawing ire Yuuki immediately perked up and smiled at him again.

“Great actually! We went on a date two days ago to the lake in fact. The sun sparkles off of it and makes it look like jewels! Akira, you should take Ryuji there at some point. I think he might like it,” he said and turned to Akira, who laughed nervously and began toying with a stray curl in front of his eyes. “What, embarrassed I suggested a date spot?”

“No. Okay so maybe just a bit,” he muttered with a wry smile. To be honest though, the reason he began fidgeting uncomfortably was from the fact that Yuuki had suggested he take Ryuji out on a date with Akechi sitting right beside them both. Anything regarding his relationship with the blond still made him painfully uncomfortable; with Akechi thrown into the mix he wished he could have crawled off into a hole and died. “Why don't we change the subject, hmm?”

“Hey Go-chan, have you had a chance to read that book I gave you?” Ryuji asked suddenly, and both Akira and Akechi were thankful for the distraction. He nodded and released such a lovely smile that even Akira could feel the warmth from it.

“I have, actually. I haven't made it too far, only a few chapters, but I definitely enjoy it. It's such a wonderful read. The tone of this novel is so somber but hopeful at the same time. A nice dichotomy that keeps drawing me back in. Arguably this is the best piece of work that the author has written, and coming from me that's honestly such high praise,” he said. Excitement twined itself around every one of his words and lit his face up impossibly bright. “They've grown so much as an author since their earlier works and their storytelling has become top notch. I've heard rumors that they're preparing to break off into science fiction works as well, and I'm hoping that their amazing way with words will carry over to their newer works as well. I...” He blinked suddenly, every ounce of enthusiasm bleeding out of him at once. “Ah...forgive me. I have a nasty tendency to ramble on if I'm not stopped. I must be boring you all.”

“Oh no. Not me, at least. I read plenty of novels myself, and I'm always looking for new authors to try. I normally only read mysteries, and as a detective I'm sure you share the same sentiment. I consider it practice for when I become a part of the police force myself,” Makoto said, prompting Akechi to laugh in response.

“Ah, I'm afraid mysteries have lost their charms for me. Solving so many cases myself, they become boringly predictable. It's easy to deduce who is actually behind the crimes within the first fifty pages. Usually. Some take a hundred. I actually prefer horror novels myself,” Akechi admitted.

“And trashy romance novels I bet,” Akira teased without thinking. For a moment he thought Akechi would yell at him or get angry with him but instead he watched a very pretty flush raise up the brunette's face.

“...Occasionally, yes,” he whispered, and everyone at the table immediately broke out laughing. Akira had only been half joking when he said that, but it was nice to know that even Akechi would occasionally drop his facade and let himself act like a somewhat normal person. And oh that color looked good on Akechi's skin. It looked better paired with red eyes staring up at him and glossed over in pleasure, or even rolled back into his skull with his mouth hanging open and chanting Akira's name like a hymnal.

The memories set up a nice flush on his skin as well, and he decided to drop out of the conversation to try and save a bit of face. How well that worked would be determined by the willingness of the others to let him stay quiet. If he were lucky nobody would notice his sudden silence.

The bell over the door caught his attention and pulled his head up out of his arms. A shock of bright orange hair bouncing over to the counter to speak with Sojiro for a moment was the only warning he had before Futaba bounded over to the table and promptly hopped up onto the edge of it, succeeding in startling both Akechi and Makoto in surprise. Perched up on her left shoulder was Morgana.

“'Sup losers. Why didn't you invite me, Akira? Would have been nice to meet your boyfriend finally,” she hummed. Ryuji inhaled, somehow managing to make some sort of incoherent but obviously embarrassed noise before burying his face into Akira's shoulder. Akira's slender hand raised up to cover his face and attempt to disguise the blush he carried.

“Futaba...can you not do this please?” Akira begged quietly. She raised her eyes to the ceiling in response and let her tongue poke out from between her lips for a moment before shaking her head.

“Nah. The table's comfy, and it lets me see all of you,” she said. Morgana wrapped himself around her through gently before hopping off of her shoulder and trotting over to Akira. His head shoved into Akira's hand as he reached up to stroke soft fur before the cat clambered down and settled into Akira's lap for a good nap. “Nice to meet you all. I'm Sakura-”

“Futaba, get down off the table. I know you're not used to being out around other people but don't sit on the table,” Sojiro huffed at her. She stuck her tongue out in retaliation before sliding down onto the floor and heading upstairs to Akira's room. After a few moments she returned downstairs with a small chair that she dropped at the end of the table and sat down in. “Thank you.”

“Welcome Dad. Aaaaaaaanyway, as I was saying. I'm Akira's friend. Nice to meet you all in person finally,” she said. “I've been wanting to meet the BF more than anyone.” 

“Futaba please, you're embarrassing Ryuyu, can you maybe not do that?” Akira pleaded. “Look, he's got his head shoved into my side.” Futaba pouted at that but shrugged afterwards.

“Eh. Fine. I'll be nice. Anyway, I suppose the rest of you dorks should introduce yourselves,” she said. Akira fought hard to suppress a snort; he knew damn good and well that she had snooped on every person sitting at this table and knew exactly who they were before she came over. In fact that was the only reason she felt safe enough to come over, was because she knew everything about everyone present. After all of the introductions she turned to Akechi, surprisingly, and struck up a conversation with him.

The cafe felt lively with so many people sitting in it at once enjoying themselves and drinking more coffee than what was honestly safe. Unsurprisingly Akira turned into the worst offender, using it as a crutch and forcing himself to stay awake while his friends were here. This morning he'd woken up from yet another nightmare, this one painting in vivid detail how it would look and sound and smell for him to just snap and murder everyone he cared about. The last thing he remembered was Ryuji begging him not to do it, please, I love you so much Aki-chan I don't want-

Morgana's claws in his thigh felt like a brush from an angel to save him from himself, even if the stinging forced his knee to jerk upwards into the table. Thankfully the cat in question wasn't settled across his knees, otherwise that would have been a rude surprise for him. When the chatter died down and everyone's eyes settled on him he laughed sheepishly and pointed down.

“Morgana started kneading my thigh. Claws dug in and startled me,” he said. There were a few quiet chuckles before the conversations resumed again, and Akira let his head rest against the wall of the booth. His hand moved of its own accord to begin stroking along his pet's fur, the sleekness underneath his fingers helping to brush away some of the anxiety he felt.

Three weeks had passed now since Crow's reply to him, and he still hadn't even settled on a target, much less a torture method. They all carried a focal point with them, something to drive the point home for both his victims and his viewers, and without a target he couldn't plan. Futaba had been mostly silent to him about that, assuring him over and over again that she was looking into it and would let him know when she found someone he might be interested in. 

But time was ticking and Akira was beginning to get restless. The feeling returned as it always did but something felt...wrong with it. Like it had somehow mutated during its dormancy. He couldn't really place the feeling of it but he could easily recognize that if it wasn't dealt with soon it would morph into something far too ugly for even his tastes.

Occasionally one of the others would call to him in an attempt to get his attention and drag him into whatever topic they were discussing, but all he could muster were half-hearted replies and nods of enthusiasm or disagreement. The mask he carried everywhere with him to hide his emotions felt damaged and cracked, brittle like a leaf under frost. The slightest touch from it could send the shards flying everywhere and expose the beast within.

His phone vibrating startled him since anyone who might have wanted to call him was currently sitting at the table with him and conversing, but the moment he saw the caller everything fell apart at the seams.

**crACK**

“I...I have to take this, can you guys let me out,” he whispered. Ryuji opened his mouth to ask why Akira's mood had suddenly dropped but the hand in his face cut him off; instead the others sitting beside him slid out into the rest of the cafe and allowed Akira to dart outside without another word.

“Hello, Akira.”

“Hello, Mother. Sorry I didn't immediately answer, I was with friends and-”

“I'm letting you know that you're coming back home at the end of your probation. When you do you're going to be on strict ground rules, and if you break them you'll regret it. You're to be on your best behavior and not argue with either of us. Do I make myself clear?” His shoulders slumped, his posture dropped, and his eyes slowly slid down to stare at the concrete underneath him. His already sour mood had just worsened.

“Yes Mother.”

“Good boy. Have you been keeping your grades up like you were supposed to?”

“Yes Mother.”

“You obviously haven't gotten into any trouble, otherwise you would be in juvie already. Keep up the good work. If you're lucky your father and I might let you see a friend or two here over the summer.” Not even offering a 'goodbye' or an 'I love you' the call ended immediately. No surprise there. She hardly ever showed Akira any affection or emotion unless it was distaste or anger. Waiting a minute or two to collect himself and avoid a breakdown in front of his friends he slid his phone into his pocket and stepped back into Leblanc.

Immediately his eyes locked with Ryuji's before the blond was rushing over to him and wrapping his arms around Akira in a very tight hug.

“Ryuyu...?” he whispered quietly.

“You looked upset. Like you needed a hug,” he answered. “I don't like seein' you upset.” Very, very slowly Akira let his arms wrap around Ryuji's waist in an equally tight hug. “Wanna tell us what happened? Who called you?” Akira slowly eased away, watching Ryuji's face shift from worry to confusion to fear and back again, and Akira swore he never wanted to see that look on Ryuji's face again.

**cRACK**

“Nothing. Mom just called me, I thought maybe something had happened to her and Dad. She just wanted to check in on me is all,” he lied. A smile fake enough to rival one of Akechi's slipped up to his face and made his stomach twist uncomfortably. “Everything's fine Ryuyu. I promise. Why don't we enjoy the rest of the day, hmm? You know how hard it is to get all of us together like this.” Ryuji smiled back and nodded excitedly, fingers slotting themselves perfectly together like pieces of a puzzle and pulled him along back over to the booth with the others.

Participating turned out to be an absolute chore, though. His brain felt fuzzy and heavy like cotton had been stuffed inside. His responses were delayed and short and sometimes he missed entire questions directed at him. The call with his mother had shaken him and affected him worse than he thought it would.

By some sort of grace Sojiro seemed to pick up on this fairly easily and decided to usher all of Akira's guests out of the cafe. The steel grip he kept on Ryuji's wrist was the only thing that kept the blond him from being forced out with the others. He waited until Ryuji and Akechi had exchanged farewells before urging him upstairs for some much needed alone time.

Ryuji settled down onto the bed while Akira fiddled with his TV and put on a movie that they'd already watched before; instead of pointing this out and suggesting a different one he kept quiet and let Akira climb into bed behind him to cuddle him. The monotony and familiarity was likely something he needed right now to just...lose himself in the feeling of Ryuji's body pressed against his chest.

Akira didn't want to go home after his probation. Sure, he'd only been here for two months now (Ryuji's birthday was coming up in a few days, and he hadn't even put any thought into what he would get for his boyfriend) but it already felt more like a home than his own did. He'd made friends that actually gave a damn about him, Sojiro obviously already cared about him a lot, he had a fucking boyfriend finally...he couldn't be happier. Even with his stupid hangups over Akechi he felt happier than he had in years.

Maybe he could get Ryuji something to wear that would smell like Akira. Like a hoodie, or something. He had one that he wore from time to time that might do the trick. That's...usually the kind of presents you would give someone you liked right? Or was that something you gave someone you were interested in but weren't together with? Shit, this might be something he would need to look up. Thankfully his phone was still in his pocket and Ryuji wasn't laying on him in such a way that he couldn't get in there easily.

Unfortunately none of the links he found really provided anything that seemed useful. Or maybe it was just his stupid brain not letting him really read the characters on his screen. He had hoped that maybe spending the night with Ryuji would help him feel at least a little bit better about his conversation with his mother, but she'd killed his good mood with just a few clipped words. They were never close but he had hoped that she would at least do more than make sure he was being a model teenager. Something he never was but she wanted him so desperately to be.

Ryuji shifted around slightly against his chest and began snoring quietly. Akira didn't realize until then that the blond had dozed off but now it made him smile warmly. Some of his favorite memories with Ryuji were from them cuddling together and dozing off wrapped up in each other's arms. He never really thought about the fact that such simple little things could give him such wonderful memories. Leaving next year would absolutely fucking suck.

He could hear Ryuji muttering to himself in his sleep and couldn't help the chuckle that vibrated in his chest. He leaned forward to let his lips linger softly against Ryuji's temple, eyes slipping closed as he basked in the warmth and radiance he felt. The TV continued on in the background, Ryuji's breaths were slow and deep and calming, Morgana was nowhere to be seen, and-

“I love you so much Goro...”

**_CRACK_ **

The tone in Ryuji's voice, the fact that he said Goro instead of Go-chan, the way his body pressed more into Akira's...there was no mistaking what he had just heard. Ryuji confessing to Akechi in his goddamn sleep. Static filtered in to Akira's ears and blocked out every other sound in the room. His heart pounded painfully against his chest, cold sweat beading on the back of his neck. There were no tears, however. He couldn't let himself cry in front of Ryuji.

He shook Ryuji awake and informed him it was getting late and he should probably hurry back to Yuuki's while he could. Even still half-asleep Ryuji's smiles always felt so warm. Akira felt jealous. When Ryuji kissed the corner of his mouth and whispered a sleepy goodbye with a promise of seeing each other at school the next day he felt sick to his stomach.

How could he say those things to Akira when he obviously loved Akechi? Did he even like Akira? Or was he just a relationship of convenience? Someone to fill the void in his heart from not being able to have Akechi as his? He started dating Ryuji because he actually liked the blond, not to replace Akechi. He was happy with Ryuji and looking forward to Ryuji's birthday and later on Christmas and next year his own birthday and...

“It's not fair...” His knees hit the wood of the attic hard enough to make him wince, but he didn't feel pain. All he felt was frustration and anger and rage building up in him. His fists balled up tight at his side before he swung at the floor with his right one. “It's not fair! It's not fucking fair! Why does Akechi get Ryuji? Why can't I fucking have anything!?” His knuckles bled from splitting open but he didn't feel shit. Tears fell down to the floor beneath him in a steady patter that did nothing to ease the pain he felt. Weren't you supposed to feel better when you cried?

“Why does he deserve Ryuji!? I treat him right! I'm honest with my feelings for him! I didn't fucking disappear out of his goddamn life for eight fucking years and waltz back in like everything was fucking okay!” His hands reached up to twine in his curls, pulling painfully and ripping out thin strands of black hair. The blood would cake in his hair but he fuck it, he didn't care. “Just let me have one goddamn nice thing in my life, that's all I fucking want!” He swung again, barely registering the sickening sound of wet skin slapping against a sizable pool of blood, and let out a heart-wrenching yell until his voice cracked and all he could muster were quiet, pitiful little sobs and equally pathetic hiccups.

Akira had finally broken. And the aftermath would be absolute hell for everyone around him.

 

Yuuki lay sprawled out on his bed, legs wrapped up in with Yusuke's, one arm thrown over his waist and the other between them at a slightly awkward angle. Yusuke's right hand lay settled on the small of Yuuki's back. Their lips met and separated over and over again, neither one of them quite ready to sleep even if they had tears in their eyes from yawning so hard.

“Yuuki...we both have school in the morning. I think perhaps we should try and get some sleep finally,” Yusuke argued with a quiet chuckle. Yuuki retaliated by shoving his face into Yusuke's chest and whining quietly.

“Don't wanna...wanna keep talking to you,” he said. “You're always so busy. How is your art project coming along? It's for one of your classes right?” Yusuke let the corner of his lips curl up in amusement before leaning down to kiss the top of his boyfriend's head.

“It's coming along fine. I'm almost finished, in fact. I decided to have Ryuji be the subject for this one. I'm waiting to reveal the final version to him however. I could show you what I have done of it so far, if you would like,” he said. Yuuki nodded and slid away from him enough to allow him to grab his phone from the nightstand beside them and unlock it to show Yuuki a picture of his painting.

Even being told that Ryuji had been used as a model couldn't prepare him for just how beautiful he looked in paint. At the same time though, Yuuki could tell it wasn't completely Ryuji he was seeing.

A beautiful blond angel stood tall in sea of blood, wings spread wide even with chunks of feathers having been ripped out and raw skin exposed beneath the holes. Streaks of red, obviously open wounds, and strands of barbed wire wrapped around his body and dripped blood into the crimson sea below the angel's feet. His entire leg from just below his knees to the tips of his toes carried the same red hue. He stood straight even under the weight of the wounds he had obviously suffered.

“Yusuke this is...this is absolutely gorgeous...what even inspired you to paint this?” Yuuki breathed in amazement. “What even do you have left to finish?”

“I have to continue shading the sea and the wings, and add a blindfold with more blood dripping down. But what inspired me was the horrible amount of abuse Ryuji has suffered at the hands of other people, and how he seems to still stand tall and act as his own person. The physical marks may not be visible but the emotional ones are deep enough that any other person might have wilted underneath that pervert's hand,” he explained. “And before you ask, I chose to depict him as an angel after a conversation I had with Akira.”

“Really? He made you decide to paint this? What made it click for you?” Yuuki asked as he pulled himself up to sit cross legged in front of Yusuke, who shifted a bit to prop his head on his hand and close his eyes in thought.

“...Akira spoke of Ryuji as a light in his life. Someone who had changed his life so much in such a short amount of time, someone who had settled into his place so easily. He told me that he thought Ryuji was beautiful and had suffered so much that it was amazing how resilient he seemed. I'm not sure why but the image of an angel wading through a sea of blood came to mind, and I simply ran with it. Is it really as beautiful as you say it is?” he asked, a tinge of nervousness in his voice that broke Yuuki's heart and made him lean forward to kiss his boyfriend sweetly.

“Yusuke. This is stunning. I love it. And I'm sure Ryuji and Akira will both love it when they see it finished,” he said. “The way your brain works is amazing. One of these days I'd love to sit down and just pick through it and see how it functions, you know? I never could have come up with something like this.” Yusuke chuckled and let his head fall down onto the pillow beneath him.

“I don't think it's that amazing, Yuuki. But thank you for the praise. It makes me feel much better about the painting than I have since I started it. To be completely honest I considered scrapping it and not finishing it. Part of me worries that this may be too personal for Ryuji,” Yusuke hummed.

“I'm not sure about that. I'm the wrong person to ask. But...I think it'll be good for him. I think it might remind him about how strong of a person he is. And how much he's gone through and survived. Hell, the feeling I get from just looking at a picture of it is so inspiring as it is. I didn't go through what he did, but I know about most of it. And I know I wouldn't have been able to stay as stable as he seems to be,” he said quietly. “I know that he's not completely okay, I'm not stupid. Even I'm not okay. But he's still so strong. Stronger than I could be honestly.” He let out a soft sigh, head turned to the side, eyes glossing over with barely-restrained tears. “I could never be like that. I could never be as great as you, either.”

“Yuuki why are you comparing yourself to other people?” Yusuke asked. When he didn't receive an answer he huffed and closed his eyes again. “You shouldn't. You aren't Ryuji, and you certainly aren't myself. That would make our relationship some strange narcissistic form of masturbation you know.” Yuuki laughed at that and grabbed a pillow to gently tap it against Yusuke's chest, heart welling up at the warm laugh and smile he received. “But I speak the truth. There's no reason in comparing yourself to other people. You're living your own life, with your own circumstances, and your own dreams. You mentioned wanting to become a film director, correct?”

“Yeah. But it's a stupid dream honestly. What are the odds that I'll ever make it anywhere? I'm really good with computers though. So maybe I should do something with that?” he offered. Yusuke hummed in thought and set his hands behind his head in a soft pillow as he contemplated this.

“Is that truly what you want? Or simply what you think you should want?” he asked. Now it was Yuuki's turn to fall silent in thought.

Could he honestly answer that question? He had thought that maybe he would be happy working as a director. He would get the chance to be behind the camera for films and get to see his vision come to life the way he wanted it, but he also knew just how hard it would be to make a name for himself in the business world. It would be a struggle if he tried to pursue that career, as much as it would make him happy, and the last thing he wanted to be was a strain for Yusuke to deal with.

But computers...they felt like an extension of him sometimes. He wasn't as good as the famous hacker Alibaba, who made it a habit of breaking into confidential files from time to time and leaking them out on the internet, but he liked to think he knew his way around a computer when the need arose. In fact he actually spent more time in front of his screen than doing his homework most days. He could easily lose himself in the lines of code and the programs on his screen and...

Becoming a director would be a wonderful thing for him, there was no doubt about that. But the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe it wasn't the best choice for him.

“...It's something I really do want, actually,” he whispered. “I love films, and I know I could always give it a try whenever I wanted to, but I know what I'm doing when it comes to tech stuff. I could do it all day every day honestly. I've been learning on my own for a long while and practicing when I can and...it's great. The things I find while I'm surfing around always amaze me. One time I ended up in Principal Kobayakawa's email and saw that he was hooking up with one of the other teachers last year. Can you imagine that? He looks awful, who would want to sleep with him?” he asked with a laugh. “I think she might have just been doing it to make sure she didn't lose her tenure though, she cut it off with him pretty quickly after it was renewed.”

“It sounds very much like that was the case, actually. A brazen way of ensuring her continued employment, I suppose, but perhaps not the most brilliant idea,” Yusuke admitted. When he yawned and rubbed at his eyes Yuuki leaned over to brush a tear down off of his cheek. “I wasn't aware I was this tired...”

“I think you got so wrapped up in art talk that it slipped your brain, you know? But it's fine. We really should be getting to sleep soon,” Yuuki admitted and began shuffling down underneath the covers with Yusuke. Their limbs tangled back together in almost the exact same positions as before, only this time their hands lay clasped together on the mattress between them.

“I'm glad you weren't harmed by Kamoshida,” Yusuke whispered. “I'm not sure what I would have done to that horrible man if he had laid a hand on you.” Yuuki stared down at their hands and let his thumb run across the back of one of Yusuke's knuckles.

“...I know what I would do, if he had tried to harm you,” he said quietly. He leaned forward to let his lips brush softly against his lover's nose and let their foreheads stay pressed together. “I would have sicced Joker on him. No questions asked. Or maybe Crow. I couldn't bare the thought of you getting hurt. Especially not because of me.” Yusuke pulled them flush together and let himself give Yuuki one last long, warm, lingering kiss before pulling away to close his eyes and sleep.

“Perhaps I would have done the same for you,” he muttered before nuzzling his pillow softly. Yuuki laughed quietly before letting his head settle back down onto his pillow as well for more sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we actually had a comment that wondered why Akira reacted like he did, or something along those lines, so my GF and I decided to clarify.  
> Akira doesn't understand how to properly process emotions. He had a bit of trouble before, but after a while it just got worse and worse. It's gotten to the point where he absolutely doesn't know how to handle such huge stressors like this, and because of this he's the type of person that looks fine on the outside but when he breaks, he breaks hard. He's far from okay right now and it's painfully evident.  
> TBH this chapter feels 'meh' again but my brain is also being dumb AF.

Akira watched Sojiro gently swipe an alcohol pad across the back of his knuckles with an empty expression and equally empty eyes. He barely even registered the sensation of pressure against his skin, never mind the sting from the alcohol. He watched Sojiro's lips move and understood his guardian was speaking to him, but he couldn't really process what he was supposed to be hearing.

“...things. You're lucky I needed to come up here and talk to you about something. Why didn't you take care of this the other night? You need to be more careful,” he warned softly. Akira blinked in confusion and a bit of surprise before he realized Sojiro had been speaking to him Once his brain kicked in and he understood what was said he forced himself to smile reassuringly to Sojiro.

“Sorry. I was just...really tired. Morgana ran in front of me.” For a split second Akira thought for certain Sojiro had seen through his lie and began fabricating some hopefully believable lie. Thankfully his guardian either had the sense to not push the conversation any further or really did believe the story, as he simply grabbed some bandages to wrap around the knuckles gently.

“Be more careful kid. Don't need you busting your head open on my floor you know,” he mumbled. Once the bandage was in place he stood up from his position and sighed. “You haven't really left the attic much. Maybe you should...you know...go see some of your friends? What about your boyfriend?” He didn't miss the twitch in Akira's face or the way he bit down on his tongue. “You two get in a fight or something?”

“No. No fight. Just...complicated stuff.” Nothing was really making much sense to him anymore. Everything felt fuzzy and disoriented and detached. Could that even be possible? He didn't think so. Maybe he just needed more sleep? That might help him out. “'m tired.”

“You've been sleeping all day. You sure you're not sick or something?” Sojiro pushed a cool hand to Akira's forehead, frowning even more if somehow possible before pulling his hand back. “Don't feel like you've got a fever. Look, I think you need to-”

“I'm fine. I promise. I just want to sleep.” Sojiro stopped and stared at Akira, confusion evident in his eyes and even disbelief etched in his face. Something told him Akira wasn't being completely truthful with him, but something else told him that he wouldn't get a proper answer out of the kid no matter how hard he pried. He at least wanted to try, though.

“Kid...I'm not stupid. I can tell something's bothering you. So why don't you talk to me about it, hmm? If it's something about your relationship I can help. I've had my fair share of problems in that department,” he said and dragged a chair over to sit across from Akira. “C'mon. Talk to me.”

“It's not a problem with my relationship. Don't worry about it. I promise, I'm fine. Can I sleep please?” Akira begged quietly. Defeat, frustration, anger, disappointment...Sojiro couldn't really tell what Akira was feeling, but he could tell there was something wrong. Akira didn't seem like he would be talking to Sojiro anytime soon, but he hoped that maybe bringing his daughter in would help him open up at least a little bit. They seemed close enough.

When Futaba walked into Leblanc she barely spared Sojiro a wave before hurrying upstairs to have a word with Akira. She found him upstairs, in his bed, with the blankets wrapped up around his head and covering his face. Only the curly tips of his unruly black hair peeked out from the top.

“Hey. Akira. C'mon. What's bothering you?” she asked. The chair that Sojiro had sat in before still stood in the center of the room, giving Futaba a place to sit now. Sojiro had mentioned something was wrong with Akira to her, and that perhaps she should speak to him and help, but he admitted that he didn't know exactly what was wrong.

Akira slowly dragged the blankets down and forced himself into a sitting position, keeping the blankets wrapped firmly around himself and giving Futaba the most dead look she had ever seen on him. Dark bags underneath his eyes told her that he hadn't been sleeping very well lately. His skin looked pale and stretched across his face. Honestly, he looked sick.

“...You were so fucking young,” he whispered suddenly. Futaba's face scrunched up in confusion before understanding transformed it into a bit of a scowl.

“So? You needed help,” she answered. He scoffed and wiped at his eyes underneath his glasses with a groan. She could barely make out the angry red veins in his eyes.”I don't regret what I did.”

“Futaba you were only twelve years old. You shouldn't have known anything about the things you did,” he said. She sighed, plucked her glasses off her face, and began cleaning them. She could already tell she was in for the long haul here. “You shouldn't have been okay with helping a serial killer.”

“Well I was. By that point I was already digging up dirt on perverted, ugly adults. All I could do was throw the things I found out on the internet and hoped somebody believed me enough to look into things. You were doing things about them. You were punishing them. You were doing the things I couldn't,” she explained as she set her glasses back on her face. “I wouldn't have helped you if I didn't believe you could do good.” Akira snorted at her and let himself slowly lean back against the wall of his bed. The smile on his face looked far from sincere.

“Good? Please. Senpai did good. Crow does good. I'm just a vengeful little bastard who always seems to have this uncomfortable urge to murder people every once in a while. The only reason I seem to 'do good' is because of my outlet.” His faux smile dropped, his attention turning over to the desk across the room from him. “...You shouldn't have helped me. You're not like me.”

“If I didn't help you then you'd either be in prison or dead. You think they would have just sent you to juvie for murder? Especially the way you did it? Hell no. They would have found some way to kill you and get away with it,” Futaba pointed out with an eerie calmness. “I saved your ass. And so what if I'm not 'like you'? You're still my friend. You're still an important person to me. That's enough for me to keep helping you. Joker I know you're not okay. C'mon. You can tell me what's wrong. Seriously.” Instead of providing a verbal answer he turned his head to glare at her and an honest to god sneer curled his lips.

“I'm not talking about it with you. It's stupid and I know it and I'm trying to fix it.” She huffed at him and stood up fast enough to send the chair scooting backwards a bit.

“You're trying to fix it by keeping yourself holed up in the attic? You've barely been eating, you haven't gone out in two days...if you miss too much school you know you'll get in trouble. You're on probation, you can still end up in juvie if you aren't careful,” she whispered. “Is...did something happen with Ryuji?”

“God, why do you and Sojiro both think it has something to do with Ryuji? It doesn't, okay? Please, just leave me alone. I'm tired and I want to sleep. I told Sojiro that, why did he send you up?” he snapped. Futaba took a step back, jumping as she bumped into the chair still sitting behind her, and bit her bottom lip gently.

“He sent me up here because he's worried about you. I'm worried about you too. You know you can talk to me right? I can-”

“Leave. Now.” Something in Akira's voice burned her resolve to the ground, and with a quick and curt nod she scrambled downstairs and out of Leblanc towards home. She thought for sure she would have been able to do _something_ to help Akira out. She thought they were close and that they trusted each other enough to be honest about things. But this...he had completely shut her out and got even more defensive than he needed to about Ryuji. Something had happened between them, and she couldn't even figure out what it was.

Maybe Minato would be able to talk some sense into the idiot. They had known each other for years, right? They had met in person, and Minato had been the one to train Akira after all. Once she had made it back to her room she plopped down in her chair and set to work. How hard could it be to get Minato's number, after all?

She found out fairly quick the answer to that question was 'damn near impossible.' It didn't take her long to figure out which phone belonged to Minato, but literally every attempt she made to actually get his number resulted in her running face-first into a firewall that would have taken her hours to try and work through. She recognized Juno's work easily enough and backed off fairly quickly, instead turning her attention to someone else that she knew was associated with Minato.

Souji's phone didn't really contain much that caught her eye. There were plenty of photos in his gallery, sorted meticulously into albums by content. There were five entire albums dedicated entirely to cats that he had seen in his travels. There was one album only labeled as 'Beans' and out of complete curiosity she decided to look through it.

A part of her couldn't even really be surprised to find the entire thing was full of pictures of the bottoms of different cat's paws. He seemed to really, really like cats for some reason.

When she scrolled through his messages she found a threat labeled “Partner” that had been locked to prevent it from being deleted. Assuming this was the conversation with Minato she opened it up to look through the messages. At first she thought it strange that the conversation appeared to be one sided, but after she began looking through the actual texts she felt a bit sick to her stomach.

There were at least a hundred texts, all sent roughly on the same day and without a response. Each one carried some variation of desperation, pain, fear, heartbreak, anger...it hurt her to read through even a few messages. As soon as she realized this was a private matter she quickly backed out of the thread and began looking through the others. There was one more that she hoped would be the right one, and mentally cheered to herself when she found Minato's number under “Emo BFF” in Souji's phone.

When Minato's phone went off he didn't think about the fact that he shouldn't be getting a message right now and immediately grabbed his phone to check the message.

_It's Alibaba. Got your number after a good bit of hunting. Akira's not doing good. You need to talk to him._

He didn't bother to reply, simply thumbed over to Akira's contact in his phone and called him. He had been in the process of making himself lunch, so he conveniently already had headphones in while he cooked. When the call went to voicemail Minato grumbled to himself and hit redial, waiting until it went to voicemail again before sending him a text instead.

_I'm trying to call you. Answer me._

He tried again, frustrated as hell and more than a little worried now that Akira was refusing to answer his phone. He wouldn't have the chance to actually eat his lunch unfortunately, but he couldn't just stop in the middle of it. As soon as he'd finished everything he tucked it into the fridge, threw on a white sweater and some dark jeans, and took off down the streets towards Leblanc. With things going the way they were for Akira he had decided that maybe sticking around Tokyo would be a good idea just to make sure he could provide support if need be. He just hated that it turned out to be necessary.

When he made it to Leblanc Sojiro sat behind the counter, a lit cigarette between his lips and a deep frown set in his features. Minato was actually quite surprised to see him smoking inside; he always seemed to catch Sojiro leaving to go smoke.

“That worried about him?” he asked, only feeling just a touch guilty when Sojiro jumped in surprise. He didn't realize he had managed to sneak in. Maybe Sojiro was upset enough that he hadn't heard the bell chime. Minato couldn't quite blame him.

“Yeah. Hasn't been out of the room in a couple days. Called the school and said he came down with something. There's a doctor nearby, I'm gonna explain the situation to her and hope she'll write him an excuse once he's over this funk. How'd you know...never mind. Futaba probably told you something was wrong. He's still up there. I hope you can help him out of this rut.” He took a long drag from his cigarette and thumped his ashes out into a dark stone ashtray. Minato tilted his head gently towards Sojiro before heading upstairs, making sure to let his feet hit the stairs hard enough to warn Akira of his presence.

When his head crested the top of the stairs he found Akira already sitting up, blankets wrapped around his shoulders, his glasses beside the bed on a table and an empty expression on his face. Minato very slowly and very calmly walked over to sit down in the chair across from Akira, one leg raising up to rest over the other, hands clasping together in his lap, and let out a soft sigh.

“...Hello, Senpai. Why are you up here?” Akira asked quietly. He shifted around to let his legs dangle over the edge of his bed now. “Is everything okay?”

“Obviously not, if Futaba had to text me to come and talk to you,” he snapped back. Akira winced slightly and dropped his eyes to stare nervously at his hands. A finger curled up into his hair to pull painfully at one of his curls. “Come on. Talk to me, Akira. What's wrong?”

“Senpai...I-”

“Don't call me senpai. I'm here to talk to Akira. Something is obviously bothering you, and nobody seems to be able to get you out of it. So I'm here. Now talk to me, Akira. I want to help you.” The finger in Akria's hair stopped twirling before slowly dropping down to flop in his lap.

“...I don't think he likes me,” he whispered softly. “Not really, anyway.” Minato raised a brow at him to prompt Akira into continuing his explanation. After a few brief seconds of thought he finally found his voice again. “The other night...we were cuddling. And I was...trying to figure out what to get him for his birthday. And I was happy and felt warm and like he actually cared and...and then he fucking _confessed in his sleep_.” Akira's voice was deathly level with barely a hint of emotion in it. “He said 'I love you Goro' and he made it sound like the bastard was a god.” He made a mistake, slipped up and revealed Crow's name, but he was too distraught to care and Minato was too concerned with his student's well-being to bring it up.

“And that makes you think Ryuji doesn't like you?” Akira sighed and leaned more against the back wall of his bed, his eyes dry and dead.

“He doesn't love me. He loves Crow. I'm just a convenient way to keep him company. I'm second fucking fiddle to someone I never stood a chance against.” His phone chimed on the table beside the bed but he pointedly ignored it. Minato saw the name “Ryuyu” flash across the top.

“Shouldn't you look at that? I think that was him,” Minato suggested. Akira snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. “Akira, you-”

“I'm not gonna try anymore. He loves Crow. Crow loves him. If I stay away long enough then they'll talk to each other eventually and they'll get together and I'll just be a bad memory,” he pointed out. He hesitated a moment to find the words he was searching for before finally adding, “I'm doing them both a favor.”

“How do you think you're doing them a favor by shutting yourself off? Akira that's the stupidest thing I think you've ever suggested before. Why are you acting like this? You've never thought something like this before.” For a long, long while neither one of them spoke, obviously waiting for the other to find their voice.

“Minato I'm tired. Let me sleep. I don't want to talk anymore,” Akira said, and suddenly Minato felt like he had just been slapped in the face. When Minato didn't offer an immediate response Akira simply pulled the blankets back up over his head and curled back up on his flimsy mattress to shut the world out around him.

Slowly Minato stood from his chair and made his way downstairs, waving absently to Sojiro as he stepped out onto the streets. He took two steps to the right and let himself lean against the wall of Leblanc before letting out a very soft, very unsettled sigh.

For a split second Minato felt like he had been looking at a mirror image of himself shortly after Ryoji's murder-slash-suicide. No emotions, no reactions, nothing. Just...emptiness. A void caused by a sudden emotional cracking. The same thing had caused Minato to become an emotionless husk like he was now, like he had taught Akira to be. or tried to. And now...he realized that was the worst thing he could have honestly done.

He wasn't stupid. He knew Akira had been bottling his emotions up, because that's what Minato had taught him. Don't show emotion if you can help it, because that can put you in danger or get you caught. Don't let yourself feel so you can protect yourself. He hadn't...actually expected something like this to happen. He hadn't expected Akira to go through something that could potentially be just as emotionally unsettling. Then again...he hadn't expected Akira to fall for someone the same way that he had with Ryoji.

He needed to talk to someone about this, and there was really only one person he could realistically ask about this.

_Hey. You still in Tokyo?_

_Yes, I am. Is everything okay?_

_I need to talk to someone about Akira. Something's gone wrong._

_You know where my apartment is, Minato. I'm here._

He shoved his phone into his pocket and pushed himself off the wall to make his way towards Souji's apartment. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt the need to have an important conversation like this with Souji, and honestly it felt...strange. To be heading there for the soul purpose of talking to him about this. Hell, he couldn't even honestly be certain he knew what he would say to Souji when he got there, just that it would pertain would to Akira and the mess he had caused the poor kid.

Souji expected Minato to look at least a little bit frustrated when he opened the door twenty minutes later. He completely expected Minato to immediately storm into his apartment and start ranting about whatever idiocy Akira had managed this time. What he didn't expect to see when he opened the door was Minato standing there with slumped shoulders and very real tears rolling down his cheeks.

“...Minato?” Minato took a slow, shuddering, shaky breath and swallowed down the block in his throat.

“...I think I fucked up,” Minato whispered. He jerked slightly when Souji grabbed him and pulled him into the apartment without a word. When he shut the door he promptly turned to Minato in absolute surprise.

“What do you mean? What happened to make you think that?” he asked. Minato ran a hand through his hair and blinked even more tears down his cheeks. Strangely enough, it almost seemed that Minato didn't understand he was crying.

“Akira broke,” he explained. Souji felt his face turn in confusion now as he struggled to understand what Minato meant by that.

“Broke? What happened to him?” he asked. Minato let his hand flop down his side as a weak laugh filtered out through his nose.

“He shut down. Like I did after Ryoji's funeral,” he answered. “I went to go see him but he told me he just wanted to sleep and not talk to me and...” He began picking at a loose thread at the edge of his sweater and cleared his throat to finish speaking. “He's not okay.”

“...I'm sorry Minato,” Souji said, immediately dragging Minato in for a tight and much-needed hug. Minato made some sort of confused sound in the back of his throat as Souji's grip on him tightened more.

“Souji, why are you hugging me?” he asked softly. Souji calmly reached up to scratch at the base of Minato's neck, smiling just a bit to himself when he felt the tension begin to drain out of the smaller frame.

“You're upset. You looked like you could use a hug. They always make me feel better, after all,” he said. Minato choked out another confused sound and tried to force his muscles to work enough so he could push Souji away from him.

“Stop it Souji. I'm fine. I'm not upset. I'm frustrated,” he said, and Souji's heart clenched itself painfully tight. He carefully pulled away from Minato to look him dead in the eyes and set his hands on his jaw softly.

“Minato you're not okay. You're crying. You never cry,” he explained. Minato's mask cracked just a bit and showed the barest hint of honest confusion before he reached up to wipe his cheeks softly. When the tips of his fingers came away wet with tears the mask cracked even further and showed wonder, of all emotions.

“When...when did I start crying?” he asked. His eyes fluttered softly in confusion as he tried to remember when his face had started feeling strange before he actually looked frustrated that he really couldn't remember anything.

“You were crying when you got here. It's why I decided to hug you. Minato what's wrong with you?” Souji asked. Minato took two very short steps backwards before sinking down to his knees slowly and wrapping his arms tightly around himself.

Why the hell was he crying? Why was he suddenly letting himself show emotion? Feel emotion, even? He had promised Ryoji he would try to move on and live his life but the pain had turned out to be too strong, prompting him to block those useless feelings out and pretend they weren't real. His chest felt tight, his throat squeezing shut painfully and forcing him to struggle to breathe.

For years he had thought he would be fine, that he would be okay never letting himself feel again, but something had changed. Something in his life had caused such a drastic shift in the way his brain worked that it set off another massive change, and the answer to what (or more specifically, who) couldn't be more obvious to him.

Akira had changed him. Akira had given him someone else to care about, someone else to worry about and spend time with and care about. Not the same way he did with Ryoji, no. But it started the process. The ice that had crawled up his heart and his soul over the years had been chipped and slowly melted away because of Akira. Suddenly he could feel pain again, fear as well, and the sudden wash of emotions had brought rise to something that Minato hadn't felt in years: real, pure, overpowering panic.

He made Akira the same way. He told Akira to kill his emotions, he turned Akira into what Minato thought he should be. It was his fault that Akira had become so unable to handle and process his own emotions, it was his fault that Akira had broken the way he had, it was his fault that Akira was now on a destructive path to loneliness.

Suddenly there were hands on his face again, startling him enough to make him flop back onto his ass before the hands were touching him again. It provided a temporary grounding sensation and allowed him to understand that Souji was currently touching him and looked very, very concerned.

“Minato? What's wrong? I'm not used to you showing emotion like this. Talk to me, Minato.” Minato's mouth opened but the pressure in his throat wouldn't let his voice out, and suddenly he understood what was happening to him.

For the first time in almost ten years, he found himself having a panic attack. The last time he had one had been the night of Ryoji's funeral when it completely hit him that he would be alone for the rest of his life and that he wouldn't have anyone else to ever love him the same way. That had been the night he had completely broken down and shoved all his emotions off into a tiny little box and tossed the key off into the ocean.

Souji was speaking to him but his brain wouldn't let him hear whatever it was being said to him. The world around him felt muted ad thick, painfully distant and fuzzy while still feeling sharp at the same time. He knew it didn't make sense, but really, that was the only way to explain it. The edges of his vision were going dark and unfocused; the pain in his chest grew worse and the tightness squeezed even harder.

And suddenly there was pressure against his lips and pale skin obscuring his vision. Silver hair tickled the edge of his nose and the fog covering his brain began to lift. When Souji pulled away Minato looked confused all over again.

“Souji why...why did you kiss me?” he asked with a weak little laugh. They never kissed before, it had been some unspoken agreement between the two of them. But...Souji just did, without hesitation, and Minato had no fucking clue why he did.

“You didn't hear me. I thought that...that maybe it would be enough to bring you back,” he admitted, and Minato swore he could see just the faintest hint of red in Souji's face. “I was trying to get you to breathe. I'm sorry, are you upset with me for it?” he asked. Minato's head slowly shook from side to side as he wiped at his face, cringing visibly as he felt fresh tear tracks on his cheeks.

“I'm not mad. Just confused I guess,” he said and pulled himself to his feet slowly. He winced slightly and rubbed at his chest to ease a bit of the leftover pressure from his panic attack. “You looked like you were saying more than just 'breathe' though.” Souji opened his mouth slowly before letting it snap back shut again, then opening it again.

“Your face. It's openly showing emotions now,” he explained. “It's...strange.” Minato sniffled and wiped at his nose to clean it off as best he can.

“What? But...how?” he asked. He watched the corner of Souji's lips twitch up in a small smile and felt his own face shift into what he felt certain was a pout.

“Looks like your mask is broken, Minato,” he pointed out. Minato laughed softly and brushed his bangs out of his eye. Now he had his own smile on his lips, strangely enough.

“I never thought this would happen...I thought for sure that...I would never change,” he whispered. He wrapped his arms around himself and let his head drop to stare down at the floor. “I thought I would be fine. I thought it would be okay, that it wouldn't matter, but Akira...I've ruined him.”

“Why do you think you've ruined him?” Souji asked as he stepped off into the kitchen to make them both some tea to drink. They both obviously need it right now. Minato took the opportunity to move over to one of the chairs and flopped down onto the cushion. His left hand slowly ran up and down his right arm to try and give himself even more of a grounding sensation. By the time Souji walked over with a cup of liquid diabetes for him he felt completely back in his own head finally and felt he could speak properly.

“He's tired. And he's hurting, and he won't let himself show any emotions. It's my fault, I taught him that he shouldn't show emotions,” he finally answered. Souji settled down into the chair next to Minato's and tucked his legs underneath him.

“So what caused the break? Do you know?” he asked. Minato practically shoved his face into his cup of tea now.

“...Ryuji confessed that he loved Akechi in his sleep,” he answered. “And it fucked Akira up. He thinks Ryuji's only dating him for convenience. I'm certain that translates to 'he thinks Ryuji is only dating him because he can't have Akechi.' He's not okay right now. I think he feels betrayed. I probably would if I were in his position.” He took a slow sip of his tea and let his thumb run across the raised embellishment on the side of the cup. “I don't know what to do to help him.”

“I'm not sure what to tell you either,” Souji admitted. “I know Akechi feels the same way about Ryuji. And I know that he feels the same about Akira. I'm honestly not surprised the three of them haven't sat down and gotten together yet, honestly.” Minato smiled and shrugged slightly in agreement.

“I'm honestly surprised about that too, but these kids also aren't the brightest it seems. By the way, how are your friends? I heard Rise was back in town again, I bet Naoto and Kanji are happy.” Souji smiled at that and reached into his pocket to grab his phone.

“They sent me a picture from one of their dates, so you can answer that yourself,” he said as he leaned over to hold the phone out for Minato to get a good look at his screen. Kanji had obviously taken it, as his arm was just barely visible in the frame, with both Naoto and Rise smooshed up against his face on either side. All three of them were smiling and eating at an obviously expensive restaurant that Minato felt certain he'd eaten at before.

“Glad to see they're doing so well. I wonder if our idiots would be that happy if they managed to pull their heads out of their asses,” he hummed. Souji dropped his phone onto the table in front of them and sighed softly.

“I hope so.” As he took a drink from his own tea he kept his focus on Minato, watching him carefully and finding it strange that he was openly showing his feelings. He wasn't brushing this new development under the rug but instead trying to nurture it and give Minato the support he needed as he tried to adjust to things so suddenly. He was still obviously worried but at the same time he felt that maybe everything would be alright for him in the end.

 

Yuuki reached over and very gently rubbed across Ryuji's back to try and help him calm down. Yusuke sat on the blond's other side, doing the same and hoping that maybe it would be enough to ease some of the obvious pain. He had been crying on the couch for the better part of an hour now, and both Yuuki and Yusuke hated it.

“He's...he's avoiding me. I did something wrong, I kn-know it and he wo-won't tell me! Wh-what do I d-do?” he sobbed. The heels of Ryuji's palms dug into his eyes painfully until he saw lights flashing before him and the pain grew to be too much. His voice sounded hoarse and raw from crying for so long. “Aki-chan ha-hasn't answered me for t-two days and I don-don't know what to d-do!”

“I'm sure there's some perfectly logical explanation for why Akira has been keeping to himself,” Yuuki said reassuringly. A part of him wouldn't believe it though, like he knew something was wrong. “Maybe he's sick? That's probably just what it is, right?”

“I do-don't think so. He st-started acting weird after I to-took a nap with him one night.” He cleared his throat and forced himself to take deep, calming breaths in the hopes that maybe it would be enough to help him level his voice out. After swallowing a few times and trying to wipe some of the mess off his face he let out a final shuddering breath and continued. “Like I said, I...I messed up. But I don't...don't know how.”

“Perhaps you should speak with Akira in person? Visiting him might be something he needs right now. Something is obviously bothering him...perhaps having some support from his lover will help set his head on straight again?” Yusuke suggested. Ryuji's head shook slowly from side to side as he decided what exactly he should say. Words were still a little bit difficult for him as he came out of his breakdown. He almost felt guilty for this, but both his friends had assured him they didn't judge him.

“Somethin' tells me that...seein' me is the last thing he needs right now,” he said. He winced at how hoarse his voice sounded and decided to take a sip of the tea he had been given to hopefully ease his throat. Once he felt satisfied that it had worked he let himself continue speaking. “I dunno what's botherin' him. But I think it...might have something to do with me. Maybe...maybe he's...ya know...frustrated...?” Yuuki pulled away from his side and instead settled against the arm of the couch to make himself slightly more comfortable.

“Frustrated? About what?” he asked, and when Ryuj blushed it went entirely over his head of course.

“You know. Frustrated.” His hand made a slight jerking motion in the hopes that it would help further explain what he meant, and then Yuuki was blushing right along with him.

“Wha...what makes you think that's why he's avoiding you?” he asked seriously. Ryuji shrugged and grabbed the throw pillow squished between Yuuki's side and the back of the couch to squeeze it against his chest as he brought his legs up in front of him. “Akira doesn't seem like that type of person. I'm sure there's some other reason.”

“I don't know. Don't most guys get pissed off when the other person don't put out for 'em? Akira seems chill enough, but ain't that how it always goes?” he asked. Yusuke hummed in the back of his throat and mirrored Yuuki's position on the other side of the couch.

“I believe I'm with Yuuki on this. I don't think that's the reason that he's keeping to himself. Perhaps that call with his mother was the cause of it? Or at least a strong catalyst?” Ryuji groaned in frustration and confusion and shoved his face into the pillow he held tight to him.

“I mean...maybe? But then why the hell did he suddenly start actin' weird after I woke up?” he asked, and neither Yuuki nor Yusuke could provide any sort of believable response to the question. Curiosity got the better of him, and they were already somewhat on this line of questioning, so... “How did you guys' first time go?” Instead of sputtering in surprise and trying to deflect the conversation the pair locked eyes with each other before Yuuki finally spoke again.

“...It was awful. I cried afterwards,” Yuuki whispered softly. Ryuji turned his attention now to Yuuki, who was focused entirely on the way his hands squeezed together tightly.

“I mean, the sex couldn't have been that bad, right?” Ryuji laughed, hoping against hope that Yuuki wasn't about to say anything along the lines of what he thought. Unfortunately he found himself proved wrong when Yusuke tapped his shoulder and shook his head from side to side in a silent admonition of his poorly timed joke.

“I cried because of relief actually. Well...relief and a bit of disgust I suppose. When Kamoshida caught us he threatened me. And...I was worried he would do the same thing that he did to you, to me. I couldn't have lived with myself if that bastard had gone through with it and gotten my first time. So I...I took a bit of my dad's beer and downed half a can and convinced Yusuke to sleep with me.” He reached up, almost like he wanted to pull at his hair, but caught himself and instead began tugging at the edge of his shirt. He promised his therapist he wouldn't do that anymore. “When we were finished I ended up crying and shoved Yusuke out of my bed and locked myself in the bathroom.”

“Yuuki I didn't...you didn't have to tell me,” Ryuji said. “I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I didn't...I didn't realize that bastard ruined it for you.” Yuuki gave a particularly hard tug to his shirt and looked up to meet Ryuji's eyes finally.

“It's fine. You asked. I can be honest with myself about what happened now. I was...relieved that Kamoshida wouldn't be my first if it ever came to that and disgusted with myself for taking advantage of someone I genuinely liked the way I did.” He exhaled slowly through his nose and let his legs cross in front of him slowly. “Yusuke sat outside the bathroom until I calmed down and coaxed me out. After I told him what happened he cried with me and felt awful that I thought I had to sleep with him because of someone else. He was angry on my behalf and angry with me and...I felt like it really cemented our feelings for each other. It was draining but at the same time enlightening in a way, if that makes sense.” He watched the gears turn in Ryuji's head for a moment before he finally asked, “What made you decide to bring this up?”

“...Dunno, honestly. Morbid curiosity?” Yusuke shifted a bit around and pushed his foot against Ryuji's thigh softly, and the blond let out a soft sigh. “Can't bullshit you two I guess. Honestly I just...wanted to know how it went because...'m scared somethin' like that might happen when I go through with Aki-chan. 'm not stupid, I know 'm not better. But if it'll make Aki-chan happy then maybe I-”

“Ryuji, don't. Don't do that to yourself, seriously. You'll fuck yourself up even worse if you try it,” Yuuki warned, and Ryuji found himself taken aback at just how violently Yuuki swore. He'd never heard Yuuki swear that harshly before. “Don't push yourself into it before you're ready. I found that out the hard way. Obviously.”

“Your first time with Yusuke?”

“My first time with Yusuke after Kamoshida was killed,” Yuuki corrected. “I don't know why it messed with me. Maybe because my brain thought that he would be coming after me for ratting on him. That my celebration was too early and that I would wake up and find him at school waiting to beat me or rape me or kill me. It sounds harsh and horrible but that's...that's what happened. I broke down again and Yusuke brought me back. But it still sucked. I was shaking for a few hours and it took a whole day before I could let him touch me again.” He looked directly at Ryuji now and leaned forward to take his hand and squeeze it almost painfully tight. “You're my friend. I don't want you hurting yourself, okay? If Akira really is avoiding you because you won't sleep with him then you need to ditch him.”

“...But Yuuki...I-”

“No buts. No argument. Do I make myself clear?” Ryuji's answer came in the form of him squeezing the pillow tighter to his chest and nodding. “I really, really doubt that's the reason. I'm telling you, there's some other cause that has him acting like this. Just...keep trying to reach out and support him, alright? When he finally gets over whatever funk it is he'll probably appreciate the fact that you didn't give up on him,” he pointed out. Yusuke pushed his foot out to brush against Ryuji's thigh again before pulling himself up off the couch.

“I'm going to go make dinner. Would you two like something to eat as well?”

“Food actually sounds great right now,” Yuuki said as he let the edge of his shirt go finally and stood up from the couch. Ryuji slowly uncurled himself and joined them off in the kitchen, happily going along with the topic change to something related to dogs and stupid tricks you could teach them if you really set your mind to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to add this, RIP. This was supposed to be posted like, ten chapters ago I think, but my dumbass kept forgetting it.  
> Serial Killer Profile: Reaper  
> Real Name: Minato Arisato  
> Occupation: Shareholder, rights holder to a certain book  
> Status: retired  
> Official Kills: 13  
> Signatures: Quick deaths and the body is left where it fell  
> Danger to Public: High (none now)  
> Targets: Taking the life of one to save the lives of many  
> Method: He brutally slew people where they stood after making sure to get them alone, all his targets were people whose death spared the lives of several others, such as a lustful nurse that used and got rid of her patients. How he got the info on his targets is still unknown.  
> Retirement: His final kill was not officially recorded as "Reaper's" work, but as a suicide. Ryoji Mochizuki, his lover, found out his identity as Reaper. Not wanting Minato to eventually get caught or killed and suffering greatly from depression he asked Minato to end him. Knowing beforehand that would ensure he never hunted again, because how could he ever want to cover Ryoji's blood with that from another kill? It was a way of saving him and being with him forever, that nontheless still tore Minato's heart to pieces.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look I know you guys are gonna fucking scream at us so just go ahead and bring it LMAO. I want you guys to know I've gotten so excited that I've written two chapters ahead of this and am _still_ fuckin' truckin'.

Souji watched Minato sleep on his couch, mouth open, drool rolling down his chin, and very soft snores drifting around his small living room. His face twitched every so often from whatever dream he seemed to be having right now. Souji couldn't help the small smile at just how calm and relaxed he seemed to be. Not emotionless, like before, but...actually relaxed for once. The gray in his hair reminded Souji of just how much he'd gone through in his life and to see him finally, finally come out on top warmed Souji's heart beyond belief. This, honestly, was all he ever wanted for Minato.

Which meant he was now more terrified than ever for his friend's well-being. The slightest thing could easily tip Minato back over and even further into a terrible headspace, and if he had to watch that happen in person to anyone, especially someone he knew and respected, he couldn't be sure it wouldn't affect him as well. Minato deserved happiness and he seemed to finally be on the edge of grasping it. No matter what it took, Souji wouldn't let anything happen to ruin that possibility.

And honestly? He didn't know how the hell to handle all of this. He hadn't been so responsible for another person's well-being and happiness since Yosuke, and that hadn't taken much effort at all. But Minato...he had a lot to contend with, and couldn't even talk to Minato about it because everything involved him. Akechi might be able to help him out, however...

“Seta-senpai? Is everything alright? You normally text me before you call me,” Akechi hummed.

“I need to speak with you about Minato. Something's changed, and I can't talk to him about it,” Souji answered as he stroked the stray cat in his lap. He had slipped out of his apartment to let Minato sleep in peace and found a nice quiet back alley to sit in. “You know how Minato and I have been sleeping together?”

“Yes. I wondered about that. You only just recently began making peace with Yosuke, are you sure that...?”

“We've been sleeping together for a year, Goro. It was physical at first,” he admitted with a small, dejected sigh. “But that's...not really the case anymore. Not for me at least. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“But you said things have changed, I feel like that's something we should talk about,” Akechi insisted. Souji groaned and let his head thump gently against the wall behind him. Did he really want to talk about things like relationships and feelings with Akechi when he was going through bullshit of his own? No, he didn't.

“I'll talk to you about that some other time, but right now let's focus on why I called you. Something's wrong, and I honestly don't know how to handle it. I normally talk to Minato about my problems, but...” Souji listened to Akechi presumably move around in his kitchen for a few tense moments now.

“What's wrong? Why can't you talk to him about this?” Souji let his eyes slip closed, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out to calm his nerves and collect his thoughts.

“...Because Minato is the problem,” he said slowly. The sound from Akechi's side stopped suddenly, and the only thing Souji could hear was very soft breathing.

“Has he done something to hurt you? Do I need to deal with him?” Akechi asked, and Souji found himself chuckling softly at just how serious his student suddenly sounded. Who knew he would be willing to murder for Souji's sake over stupid romantic issues like this.

“No, no, you don't need to deal with him. He hasn't done anything wrong,” he promised. “It's just...you know how he seemed so emotionally dead when you met him, except for the light teasing?” Akechi hummed an affirmative as the cat stood up from Souji's lap to stretch and shift around into a slightly more comfortable position. “Well he's been like that for as long as I've known him. We met shortly after Yosuke passed away. We were in the same grief counseling sessions, his friend brought him there.”

“You were there because of Yosuke. So does that mean...? Never mind. It isn't my place to know,” Akechi whispered. Souji began gently scratching behind the cat's ear now.

“It kind of is. His friend was there because his girlfriend died after fighting an illness. Minato was there because...well...he helped his boyfriend commit suicide,” he said quietly. It seemed today was the day to give Akechi heart palpitations and Souji seemed to be the cause, as Akechi made some sort of distressed noises. “I won't go into too many details, but his boyfriend wasn't well and forced Minato to help him die.”

“Is that why he seemed so distant?” Akechi asked.

“More than likely. He only ever really opens up around his friend Junpei sometimes and when he bottoms,” he explained. Akechi's face turned bright red in embarrassment from hearing that, just as it did before when Souji's and Minato's sex lives were brought up. “And that's...that's the problem. He showed up at my apartment about an hour and a half ago actually crying. He didn't even realize he was until I said something and then he actually looked confused for once. His face was changing and showing how he felt. It's good, but he's stressed too.”

“I don't mean to sound rude, Seta-senpai, I'm just...very confused. May I ask why you wanted to speak with me about this?” Akechi prodded. Souji scratched at an itch at the base of his neck and pinched the bridge of his nose. It almost felt like he was airing out Minato's dirty laundry, so to speak, but this conversation felt necessary.

“He's Akira's mentor. He taught Akira as Reaper. He's the reason Akira knows most of the things he does. Like I did with you.” The cat stood and braced her tiny little legs on Souji's chest to rub her head against the bottom of his chin gently.

“He's really the one who taught Akira? That...Akira said I reminded him of his mentor after a conversation we had, when I asked if I seemed cold. Do we really share similarities like that?” Akechi asked. Souji watched the cat shift around to settle down and actually sit in his lap with her side against his chest like a person who wanted cuddles. It almost reminded him of Minato sometimes.

“I can see some similarities, yes. But the point is that Akira is the reason he's upset. He fell asleep on my couch after talking with Akira.” He let his fingers rub gently along the cat's belly and leaned down to kiss the top of her ginger head. “Something's wrong with him.”

“That doesn't make sense. Ryuyu hasn't told me there's anything wrong,” Akechi said. “What could have happened to him?”

“I can't tell you, Goro. All I know is that Minato came to me crying after speaking with Akira. So obviously something has happened.” Akechi set his cup down in front of him on the table before standing and moving across his kitchen to turn his cactus so it wouldn't scorch. “I care for him, so it bothers me.”

“If Minato came back upset after speaking with him then I don't believe I stand much of a chance on helping with whatever seems to be the problem with Akira,” he said and poured a just a bit of water into the pot. “Tomorrow is Ryuyu's birthday. I'm not even entirely sure he'll show up to the party.”

“I'm sure he will. If he's anything like Minato he'll force himself to be okay even when he isn't,” Souji said. “...Goro...please take care of yourself.” Akechi stopped with one hand on the counter to stare at the wall across from him. That honestly came out of nowhere. Souji had never once expressed worry for Akechi like this.

“Seta-senpai of course I will. Why wouldn't I?' he asked. He could hear the gentle sounds of a cat purring in the background and wondered just how close the cat had gotten to his phone now.

“I'm just...worried is all. About Minato, and about you. I'm your senpai and your friend. So please don't do anything that would make me mourn you as well,” Souji whispered.

“Souji...what's gotten into you?” Akechi asked softly. “You've never been like this before.”

“I'm just worried for Minato. Losing Akira will destroy him all over again and I don't want that. Losing you...” Akechi cleared his throat and settled back down in his chair with his cup of tea again. The sun had begun to slide over the edge of the horizon, bringing soft orange and pink lighting in with it. Akechi wondered where Souji was right now and if he was doing okay or not.

“You have nothing to worry about, Seta-senpai. I won't do anything so drastic. You have my word. And I'm sure everything with Akira will be fine as well. I'll do whatever I can to make sure he's okay.” Souji very carefully nudged the cat out of his lap and pulled himself up to his feet so he could make his way back home and check on Minato.

“Thank you, Goro. Goodnight. I'll talk to you again if I need to,” Souji said.

“Goodnight. I hope everything straightens out soon,” Akechi answered. Souji ended the call first and tucked his phone back into his pocket before taking off back towards home. Akechi began to set his phone back down on the table in front of him but stopped halfway forward to send a quick message to Akira.

_Ryuyu's party is tomorrow. Please don't forget._

 

Akira ran a few fingers through his tangled hair to try and get the mess under control and make himself look at least a little bit more decent for the party. He didn't want to look like a complete train wreck for everyone there. He glanced down at his phone to reread the last texts Ryuji had sent him.

_I'm having a party for my birthday Sunday! Gonna be at Yuuki's place. Ann, Shiho, Yusuke, Yuuki, and Go-chan are gonna be there. Gonna start serving lunch at about one probably. There's cake! Can't wait to see you there. <3_   
_Aki-chan, don't forget to check your messages. I miss you!_   
_You okay? Haven't seen you all day. You gonna be at my party? You need me to come check on you?_   
_You missed school today. Want me to come by and keep you company?_   
_Aki-chan please answer me._

He almost felt bad for showing up unannounced like this but he figured that maybe it would be a nice surprise for Ryuji to see him like this. He had a present wrapped underneath his arm for Ryuji just to be certain, a necklace that he found in the underground mall about twenty minutes ago because he hadn't left the fucking cafe since Ryuji's sleep confession. He felt guilty but it seemed like something that Ryuji would like, right?

As he stopped in front of Yuuki's door he hesitated with his hand a scant inch from the wood. Fuck, should he really be here? He'd wanted to stay away so Akechi and Ryuji could finally get together, and yet here he was showing up to Ryuji's birthday party like nothing had ever happened. Could he really do this? Would Ryuji even want him here?

There was only one way to find out. His knuckles rapped gently against the wood before his hand dropped down nervously to his side. Seconds stretched on into minutes, and just as Akira decided he would bolt and send an apology the door opened and deep red eyes widened in surprise before turning to what he thought maybe passed as worry.

Akira looked _awful_. Dark circles underneath his eyes betrayed just how little sleep he'd gotten over the past few days. His normally pale skin looked almost ghost white now, and his glasses were nowhere to be seen. At least he'd made a half-ass attempt at getting his bird's nest of hair under control.

“Oh. Hello Kurusu.” He kept his voice low so only Akira could hear him, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that Ryuji's previously delinquent boyfriend was not standing in the doorway. Behind Akechi came the sound of Ryuji laughing at some stupid joke that Shiho made. “I'm glad you could make it.”

“I'd rather cut off my own foot than miss this,” Akira deadpanned. Akechi's previously worried expression turned to anger now as his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Kurusu don't say things like that. I don't want you upsetting Ryuyu, understand?” he snapped. Akira's head tilted ever so slightly to the side in confusion, but...oddly enough, his face didn't show it.

“It was supposed to be a joke?” he offered. Akechi huffed at him and actually rolled his eyes like a petulant child.

“You could have fooled me. Get in here, Kurusu. I'm sure he'll be excited to see you,” Akechi said and turned to step further into the apartment. Akira hesitated for a few seconds before following after him. Yuuki was the first to notice Akira there, meaning he was the one to reach over and tap Ryuji's arm and get his attention. The moment Ryuji's eyes settled on Akira he launched himself off the couch and ran over to throw himself into Akira's chest.

“Aki-chan! 'm so glad you're here, I was worried you wouldn't show up, I was worried you wouldn't be okay, I was...” His voice tapered off at the end as he tried to decide whether or not he to continue that sentence. Akira's arms very slowly looped around Ryuji's waist to pull him in for a tight hug, his face shoving itself into the side of Ryuji's neck. The smell of citrus drifted up from Ryuji's skin and for a moment everything felt alright again. Like it had before the confession. Like he wanted it to be.

“I love you with all of my heart, Ryuji. Happy birthday,” he whispered. Every ounce of affection and care and love he could muster twined itself in his voice. His lips looked like they tried to rise and his eyes softened just a bit, but other than that it didn't really seem like he actually meant it. Ryuji squeezed him impossibly tighter and shoved his face directly in Akira's chest, however, able to feel exactly how much Akira meant it.

“I was worried you didn't like me anymore,” he admitted with a muffled voice. When they pulled away Ryuji felt his lips pull tight enough that his cheeks began to hurt. His right hand drifted down Akira's arm to link their fingers together nervously as a blush crept up on his face. Akira's heart began pounding against his chest suddenly. Maybe because Ryuji...didn't say he loved Akira back...?

“I'm sorry,” Akira said with a slight bow of his head. He held the small wrapped box out to Ryuji and tried to force himself to smile. The furthest it went was his lips twitching just a touch. The lack of answer almost made him want to not give Ryuji the present, but he had already bought it, and they were still together. It would be rude to not get him something. “I got you a present.” Ryuji took the present from him, fingers running slightly across the well-done wrapping job, and held it to his chest for a moment with an obviously embarrassed but endearing smile on his face.

“Go-chan didn't make enough for lunch, so I guess it's kinda a good thing you got here so late, but at least you didn't miss the cake! He went all out on it this year,” Ryuji said as he carefully set Akira's present down on a table with the others before they dropped down onto the couch beside each other. Their hands stayed wrapped together between them even as Ryuji turned to speak with Yusuke about something.

“Akechi can bake?” Akira asked. Akechi chuckled at this and settled himself down in an arm chair catty corner to where Ryuji sat at the arm.

“I can bake and cook both. Seta-san, one of my coworkers and longtime friends, taught me when I was younger. He was forced to learn after his parents continued to dump him off on his own, and decided that instead of struggling to take care of myself he would teach me how,” he explained. A tinge of familiarity stung Akira's heart at hearing that and reminded him a little bit of himself. He likely didn't know how to make many of the things that Souji could, but he knew how to make simple and easy recipes.

“Wow. I'm actually a bit surprised honestly. You never struck me as the type to know how to bake or cook anything,” Akira said in genuine surprise. While his voice conveyed his emotions well enough his face remained passive and immobile. In fact Akechi had noticed that even when Akira had said what arguably passed as the most heartfelt 'I love you' he had ever heard in his life his face didn't really seem to move much. It reminded Akechi of Minato and set fresh worry blooming in his chest. Ryuji either hadn't noticed the sudden change or decided not to react to anything, as he continued to make jokes and small talk with Yusuke and Yuuki and even hold a conversation with Ann and Shiho about schoolwork.

Akira finally seemed to have noticed Akechi staring at his face and reached up to readjust his glasses before touching...nothing. Oh. He'd forgotten them that morning, it seemed.

“Ah, I bet I look really weird without my glasses on don't I?” he asked with a dry laugh. “Can't believe I forgot them when I woke up. I guess I wasn't entirely awake.”

“Ah, yes. That's probably what was wrong. I could tell something was strange about you. Can you even see without them?” Yusuke asked. Akira's nervous habit of twirling his curls struck again as he stared down at his lap, one finger twining tightly in his hair.

“They're actually just fashion glasses. I don't really need them. I'm supposed to lay low, so...I figured the more I could do to change my appearance, the better. I wish I hadn't forgotten them. I bet they'd look cute on you, Ryuji,” Akira said. Ryuji laughed and bumped his shoulder against Akira's gently.

“Nah. I bet I'd look weird in 'em. And I don't think you look weird without 'em. I think you look really cute like this,” he said. Akira's eyes widened just the slightest bit, only really noticeable to Akechi, even as a bright red flush crept up his skin.

“Thank you, Ryuji,” he said softly. Akechi drew his bottom lip between his teeth as the memory of his previous conversation with Souji came back to him. The worry that maybe Akira could end up emotionally dead like Minato made his stomach twist. If he did turn out like that, Ryuji wouldn't be able to handle it.

“Hey...Aki-chan. You doin' okay? You don't look so good,” Ryuji said quietly. Akira waved his free hand slowly in dismissal and squeezed the one that he still held tightly.

“Don't worry. Just a bit of a fever. Promise I'm not contagious,” he said with another dead laugh. Akechi felt the scowl on his face deepen even more now. He felt certain that was meant to be a joke, but without his face actually changing it came off as a very poor attempt at one. Most likely Ryuji didn't understand it was supposed to be a joke since he reached up to press a hand to his boyfriend's forehead.

“You sure you're fine? I can go ahead and open your present so you can get home sooner,” he offered. Slowly Akira shook his head from side to side.

“No. I want to stay here with you,” he pleaded. For a moment Ryuji almost seemed like he would argue with his boyfriend about staying but decided that maybe it wouldn't really be worth it right now. He hadn't seen Akira in almost three days, after all. This might be the last chance he would get to see him for a long while.

“Alright. But promise me that if you start to feel too bad you'll let me know, 'kay?” The insistence and genuine worry in Ryuji's voice made warmth wash through him. Being near Ryuji always seemed to have this effect on him, and honestly he kind of missed it. “Anyway, why don't we go ahead and get the presents open now that Aki-chan's here?” Ryuji suggested as he reached over to the table and specifically grabbed Akira's present first.

“I looked all over Shibuya for it. I hope you like it,” Akira said. Ryuji eagerly ripped at the wrapping paper with an excited look on his face that only grew even more as he saw the design on the top of the box. Akechi could see Akira sitting beside him trying to keep himself still even as his nerves begged him to move at least a little bit. The lid went flying off into the floor to reveal a black skull necklace with a crown on the top and a black chain. As soon as Ryuji saw the piece of jewelry he turned and gave Akira another full-body hug.

“Aki-chan I love it! Every time I went to get it they were out! Can you put it on me?” he asked and held the necklace out for Akira to take. While there wasn't a smile on his face Akechi could easily see the blush that crawled back up the other's neck again. Once the necklace was in place Ryuji reached up to squeeze it gently and kiss the skull before wrapping an arm around Akira's neck to squeeze. “Thanks babe. I really do love it.” Akira leaned in, completely expecting a kiss from Ryuji and missing it entirely as Ryuji instead turned to grab another present off the table to unwrap.

For someone who was supposed to be a model, Ann...really didn't have the best fashion sense when it came to other people, it seemed, as she'd decided to give Ryuji a plain black shirt with a simple feather design on it. Definitely not really anything his style, but he promised to wear it anyway to make her happy. Even Akira found the situation amusing enough to laugh about it. The next gift that he reached for had Akechi's name written on the tag, and Akira felt a sense of dread that only deepened as the wrapping paper was peeled away. When he realized what the item Ryuji was holding and had gone silent over was, he felt a bit of nausea well up in his gut.

“...Go-chan...where'd you find this?” Ryuji asked quietly. Akechi smiled, and it seemed so much more warmer than any of the ones Akira had been able to muster all day.

“I finally went and decided to clear out my storage unit, from when I first moved. I found that tucked in a box near the back,” Akechi answered. “I have the painting that you made that day as well. I found it behind the picture, and it's...sitting on my fridge right now.”

The picture, kept in an obviously updated and high quality frame, showed a younger Ryuji with his face pressed against whom Akira could only assume was a younger Akechi, both covered in splotches of vibrantly colored paint all along their face and clothes. Behind them stood two other women, one with soft brown chestnut hair and the other with ink black hair smiling with their arms wrapped around the two children and also covered in paint. He could definitely see the resemblances between Akechi and Ryuji to their mothers.

He honestly felt like he was intruding at this point. They both looked so happy together, like they would have been inseparable if circumstances hadn't ripped Akechi away from his home. Like they both probably would have already gotten together if they hadn't been forcibly separated. He hears Akechi say something, but the only thing he could pick out of it was 'remember our childhood by.' He felt sick to his stomach and extremely uncomfortable but the weight against his side reminded him that he couldn't leave. It was Ryuji's birthday after all. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin it because of his own stupid hangups.

Ryuji calmly leaned over to pull Akechi into another hug, and Akira felt bile rise up.

“Thanks, Go-chan. That really means a lot to me. You're my best friend, 'nd I wouldn't have it any other way. 'm glad you 'nd Aki-chan get along too. I'd be real upset if you didn't get along with my boyfriend, you know?” he laughed. Akechi nodded and patted Ryuji on the back gently.

“I'm glad we get along too. I don't think I would be okay with you dating someone I didn't agree with,” he said as Ryuji pulled away to take his seat beside Akira again and reach for another present. This one was oddly large and had Yusuke's name written across it.

“I remember you mentioning how much you liked it, so I decided that perhaps I would let you keep it,” he said as Ryuji began pulling the paper off and away. Akira saw the swipes of paint and wondered what kind of strange thing Yusuke had decided to paint for Ryuji. When he saw the full image he felt his jaw drop in awe.

The painting that Yusuke had been working on now lay clutched in Ryuji's hands, finished and varnished to seal in the art and looking absolutely stunning. Akira had never gotten a chance to see the painting, unlike Ryuji and Yuuki, so seeing it for the first time left him breathless. He knew Yusuke was a wonderful artist but this...this was a whole new level for him.

“Yusuke...man, you didn't have to give it to me,” Ryuji laughed. “The hell am I gonna hang it anyway?”

“Well once you finally have a home of your own you can hang it up there. Unless you told someone they would never know you were the subject of the painting,” Yusuke offered, and Akira felt his breath hitch again. Now that he knew this was meant to be Ryuji he could see the small similarities and remembered the conversation he had with Yusuke all that time ago about Ryuji. So this is what had spawned from it...

“Wow...thanks, Yusuke. This really does mean a lot. Looks as amazin' as I remember it,” Ryuji said and carefully set the artwork off to the side to give Yusuke a hug. “Still can't believe that's what you think of when you see me though.”

“Everyone sees beauty and strength in their own way. This is simply my portrayal of it,” Yusuke pointed out. When they pulled away Akira felt...a little awful that he was suddenly not entirely there. His attention and consciousness both faded in and out, only really coming back to keep up the facade that he was alright. He remembered Shiho's gift of a planner, Yuuki's gift of candy, them finally getting to taste Akechi's cake and singing Ryuji happy birthday...he couldn't be sure but he felt like the cake may have been wonderful, and hoped he had played a good enough act that nobody questioned him.

The lull brought on after the cake had been completely devoured finally brought him completely back to himself. Ann was hugging Ryuji tight and wishing him another happy birthday while Shiho stood off to the side anxiously. Yuuki and Yuuske carried on a conversation behind him about where they would be going for dinner and not-so-subtly trying to convince Akechi to check out as well and leave Ryuji alone with Akira. It seemed Akechi had other ideas of his own, however, as he calmly walked over to Akira with a subtle scowl on his face.

“Kurusu, perhaps you should let me walk you home? You look a little green,” Akechi pointed out as the door to Yuuki's apartment shut. Akira almost wanted to argue with him but decided that he'd fought enough. If he tried any harder it might upset Ryuji.

“Ah...yeah. I suppose I shouldn't stay here any longer.” As Akechi turned to collect a few things and clean up a bit of the mess they'd left Akira turned to Ryuji and looped his arms around his waist. “I hope you had a good birthday, Ryuji.”

“I did. It was great. Definitely nice to see you again,” he said in return. With Akechi's back still turned he leaned up to press a warm, soft kiss to Akira's lips, arms coming up to lace around his neck and bring him even closer. Akira's arms tightened around him in an attempt to fight back tears. Ryuji kissing him may seem like something simple but after the worries and doubts and fears he had carried, this small little thing eased a bit of his fears, even if only for a few moments.

“I really do love you,” he whispered in the blond's ear. A soft giggle tickled his ear before Ryuji pulled away to kiss him again. Akira was the one to break the kiss with a hand settling down on Ryuji's hip to squeeze. He felt the corners of his lips pull up ever so slightly; this time the pounding in his chest came from joy instead of nerves.

“Kurusu, we should get going. It's getting late,” Akechi said, prompting Ryuji to step away from him suddenly. The brief smile that Akira thought might finally come up disappeared immediately. Instead of giving a verbal answer he nodded and quietly followed after Akechi as they made their way back to Leblanc together.

Akira had given him two perfectly good opportunities to say 'I love you' back to him. He'd even given Ryuji the chance to when Akechi wasn't paying attention to them, and he hadn't said shit about it. The closest they had gotten to affection all night was holding hands and hugging. Ryuji only finally kissed him after the party and with Akechi's back turned. Logically he knew he shouldn't be upset about this. He wasn't a tyrant of a boyfriend. But...between Ryuji's confession and his reluctance to show affection with Akechi around...it felt like he was a dirty little secret for some reason. Akechi knew they were together, in fact everyone there knew they were together, so why...why wasn't Ryuji acting like it? 

What Akira wouldn't do to finally have this mess put behind him. Have Akechi and Ryuji finally together and happy and loving, like they deserved, without him in the picture. Maybe he'd find some other guy to keep him company. Or maybe he'd get a girlfriend and make his parents happy? There were plenty of cute girls at Shujin. But...they probably wouldn't want to date him, given his record, and he really couldn't blame them for it either.

At the top of his list though, and a fairy tale ending that he knew would never, ever, ever come true, would be to have both of them as his, curled up together in a large bed, laughing and trading stupid stories while Morgana set somewhere on the bed bathing himself or even purring on somebody's chest. Warmth pressed against both sides of him, fingers twined with his or in his hair or holding his hips with legs wrapping together in a mess that kept him from telling who's legs were who's. Quiet and affectionate whispers of love and adoration... Thinking about just how happy and loved he would feel made him want to cry, but he couldn't. Akechi would ask questions and Akira wouldn't be able to come up with an acceptable answer quick enough.

He quietly pushed passed Akechi to open the door to Leblanc, not surprised to see Sojiro already gone for the night, and turned to look the door behind him. Akechi wasn't about to let things go and decided to push his way into the cafe with a low growl.

“Kurusu, what has gotten into you? You've been acting strange all night and it's starting to bother me,” he snapped. Akira was decidedly not in the mood to have this conversation right now and turned to head upstairs in the hopes that ignoring Akechi would make him turn and leave already. Instead he heard the sounds of footsteps following after him up the stairs. “I asked you a question, you know.”

“Nothing is wrong, Akechi. Why do you think there is?” he asked as he began to shuffle around his bedroom to get ready for bed.

“Because you've barely reacted to anything at all today. Did something happen?” Akira sighed softly to himself and shucked his shirt off to the other side of the room to begin changing into his pajamas.

“Don't worry. I'm taking care of it. Everything is fine,” he breathed. Akechi scoffed in disbelief and stepped around in front of Akira to glare at him.

“Don't lie to me, Kurusu. You're dating my best friend, I have a right to know what the hell is going on. I just found out today that you've been avoiding him for almost three days and then suddenly you show up at his birthday party like nothing happened? Whatever you're doing you need to stop it.” Akira pushed him away none too gently and calmly stripped out of his pants to finish getting ready. The brunette's face turned a soft shade of red as he turned away to avoid staring. They'd fucked before but things were different now. They weren't fucking each other.

“Stop it. I'm doing this because I love Ryuji,” he argued while taking his dirty clothes and setting them off on the couch across from him. Another disbelieving snort sounded at his back.

“You could have fooled me, you know. If you love someone you don't usually ignore their messages for two days,” Akechi snapped. With the understanding that Akechi had no intention of dropping this conversation anytime soon Akira decided he would humor the asshole for a little bit.

“I'm doing this so he doesn't ever have to worry again,” he said. Akechi's teeth grit so hard he swore he heard them squeak.

“That's exactly what you're making him do! He was concerned you wouldn't be there today and that you didn't care for him anymore! If you really love him then fucking act like it!” The anger and frustration building up in him for nearly a month bubbled to a point, threatening to spill over and make him do something he might regret. If he were completely honest with himself he would say he wanted to punch Akira in the face for his idiocy yet kiss the sadness away from him at the same time.

Only there was no evidence of those feelings in Akira's face. Even his eyes refused to betray any emotions, instead settling even like calm ponds. Hi posture gave nothing away, his face gave nothing away, every part of him seemed calm and in control. It felt like Akechi was trying to have a coherent conversation with a statue at this point. Unnerved would probably be the best way to describe how he felt about this.

“...Kurusu. You shouldn't bottle your emotions up as you're doing now. It isn't healthy for you,” Akechi said, and Akira almost looked like he tried to smile. Almost.

“Don't you know that's dangerous? You could get caught if you aren't careful. Emotions can give you away. It's what Senpai taught me,” he said. His head dropped over to slightly to the left now in the best way he could think to mimic confusion. “Yours obviously didn't teach you that. You look angry right now.”

“Of course I'm angry, you're putting yourself and Ryuji in danger with this shit! It isn't good for you to ignore your emotions! You need to stop holding everything in,” he hissed. “Now tell me what the hell you're trying to keep bottled up.”

“Nothing you need to worry about. I already told you,” he argued. In the back of his mind he heard a voice whisper an answer: _I love you both so much it hurts me and I can't let myself feel that way._ “I'm doing this so I don't hurt him.”

“Not telling him how you feel is fucking hurting him! Are you really that stupid?” Akechi knew he was about to break down and yell and that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Akira didn't need to be yelled at, he needed someone to talk to, but Akechi was just so goddamn angry with Akira right now that it clouded his judgment.

“I'm not stupid. This really is the best option for him. I love him, I don't-” Suddenly Akechi was on him, left hand wrapped up in Akira's shirt to yank him forward, eyes flashing red with rage. This was a side of Akechi that Akira had never seen before.

“Why don't you stop lying!? If you really loved him you wouldn't be hurting him like this!” he yelled, and something in Akira snapped. He blinked once, twice, and then calmly reached up to untangle the brunette's fingers from the front of his shirt.

“You should confess to him already,” Akira said, and Akechi's face immediately turned scarlet.

“I...why would...I don't...”

“You would probably make him happier than I could,” he added as he backpedaled away from Akechi and back towards the stairs. “I really do love him though. Please don't doubt me on that.” He turned and hopped down the stairs two at a time to make it out of the cafe before Akechi could recover from his stupor and succeeded in even locking the door behind him.

When Akechi slammed into the glass he cringed and waited for the sound of a pane of glass sliding out of place and crashing to the concrete, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard nothing. He tried the door and found it locked, cursing himself for not moving faster and for letting Akira get away from him. Unlocking the door from the inside wouldn't be an issue; the issue would be him leaving the building unlocked as he went to search for Akira and having no guarantee of finding him. All he could do now was make his way upstairs and try to sleep here for the night.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs the sound of the window near the bed rattling caught his attention. Akira's cat Morgana appeared to want in and was vigorously pawing at the window to try and open it. Akechi chuckled softly and walked over to the window to open it and listened as the cat thumped down onto the bed and rubbed his head against Akechi's thigh.

“Good evening, kitty,” he hummed. After taking a few moments to remove his gloves and toss them onto the small table beside the bed he scooped Morgana up in his arms and began scratching along behind his ears. “I'm afraid I don't know where Akira keeps your cat food, or if he even has any, so I cant provide you dinner.” The cat's head raised up as he let out a raucous and almost angry meow, like he understood he wouldn't be getting fed tonight, before pushing it violently into Akechi's hand as though insisting on getting adequate pets to make up for the lack of dinner. “Such a moody little thing aren't you? I don't know where Akira is but...hopefully he'll be back soon. Then he can feed you. For now I should probably try and get some rest.”

After carefully setting Morgana down on the mattress and discarding his coat off to the side he began to search around for anything he might be able to wear to bed so he wouldn't be stuck in his nice dress shirt and pants for the evening. After a bit of searching he actually came across a pair of his old pajamas he'd left here one night after they managed to get stained from morning sex...washed. And obviously worn since the last time he had them, as there was a new but permanent ink stain on the pants he didn't remember leaving in the fabric. Which meant that for whatever reason Akira had decided to wear his clothes as his own.

That brought up a warmth that shouldn't have been there even as he pulled the pajamas on, taking a moment to inhale the scent of Akira and whatever detergent he used before sliding into bed under the covers. Once Akechi had settled down onto his back Morgana crept up and settled down onto his chest for the evening. When Akechi set a hand on his back gently the feline immediately began to purr in content and let his head drop down onto his paws.

Akechi willed himself to sleep, only able to finally manage thanks to the constant background noise of a purring cat settled comfortably on his chest and the repeated mantra of “He'll be fine” repeated over and over again to himself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOY  
> IT'S THIS CHAPTER  
> Have fun kiddos.  
> New profile at the end~!

Futaba ran her hand down her face for the twelfth time in an hour as she stared at her rapidly blurring screen. Hours had passed since she started looking around the city for wherever the hell Akira had gone and about two hours since the last time she had cried. After running out of the cafe last night and leaving his damn phone in his damn pants he had disappeared completely off the map and even Futaba couldn't find him. Every part of her brain screamed that something serious had happened to him and that the only thing she would be finding would be a corpse.

Sitting in front of the computer was only making things worse for her. She needed to get out of the house for a little bit, get some fresh air, and actually eat something. Sojiro would probably be angry with her if she put it off any longer.

The sight of Akechi sitting at the counter nursing a cup of coffee and Sojiro standing in front of him with a pained expression greeted her, and she knew asking if they had found him was pointless. Instead she hopped up into the seat beside Akechi and sniffled.

“I should...probably eat something,” she whispered. She cleared her throat to even her voice out and added, “I haven't found him yet either.”

“I'm sure the kid's fine, wherever the hell he is,” Sojiro muttered. Futaba could tell he didn't quite believe his own words even as he went to go fix her a plate of curry. “Just wish he hadn't run off like that. Whatever you said to him last night must have really set him off.” Now he glared at Akechi, who simply shrunk down further into himself and took a drink from his cup.

“Hey, don't get on Akechi's case. He's obviously as messed up about this as we are,” Futaba said. “And...Akira was messed up about something. He wouldn't even tell me. I think Akechi just made him realize what was wrong and...Akira couldn't handle it right then.” She pulled her phone out to check for new messages from the others and growled softly to herself. “Dammit...none of the others have found him either...”

“What if he left the city? He may have...gone home,” Akechi suggested weakly; Futaba set her phone down on the counter in front of her and turned to face Akechi now. The scowl on her face seemed more cute than threatening.

“This is Akira's home,” she said firmly. “Don't say things like that. Why would Akira go back to his crappy parents? Even after all of this mess, I don't think he would go back there. I-” Her phone chimed from in front of her and with lightning quickness she snatched it up to check the message.

_This is Juno. I've found him. Medical clinic around the corner from Leblanc._

“He's at that weird doctor's place!” she yelled and stumbled out of her seat, almost slamming face first into the corner of a table in her haste. Akechi and Sojiro both yelled after her to wait for them before taking off after her. Normally Futaba would be upset that someone else was able to figure out information she couldn't but right now, she was more concerned with Akira's safety and health.

When she burst into the clinic the first thing she saw was Minato standing there talking to the woman that she only vaguely remembered to be the owner of the clinic. Beside him stood Souji, who was obviously trying to keep up with the conversation as well, and behind them both stood a small girl with mint green hair. The moment she saw Futaba she smiled and waved in greeting.

“Hello. I would have told you sooner, but Minato wanted to speak with Takemi himself first,” she said, and that was all Futaba needed to hear to know who she was standing in front of now. “I've been wanting to meet you in person for a while now, and actually happened to be here for that reason. I definitely wasn't expecting to be asked to help Minato again so soon.”

“Thank you so much for finding him,” Futaba said. She wiped at her eyes to hold back fresh tears and swallowed to bring her voice back. “Is he okay?”

“I can answer that,” Takemi said just as Sojiro and Akechi made it inside. “Oh good. You're here. I found your kid sleeping in front of my clinic when I came in this morning. When I brought him in he had a nasty fever, so I set him up in a back room for a little bit. It looks like he's come down with a nasty cold that should clear up in a few days. I'd make sure someone stays with him at all times. He'll probably be pretty delirious when he wakes up.”

“I figured you don't have much time for that, so I was offering to take him for a little bit,” Minato said. “Buuuuut Souji told me that might not be a good idea, given his probation and everything. But I can come sit with him for you, if it would make you feel better.”

“This is my fault. I actually think I should take responsibility for this,” Akechi said. “I can put off school and work for a few days. I don't have any appearances and my cases have dwindled down to a trickle.” Sojiro grumbled something behind Akechi, he couldn't quite make it out, before huffing and setting a hand on his shoulder.

“Kid. I-”

“I'm not a kid. Please don't refer to me as one,” Akechi said. Sojiro's hand on his shoulder tightened for the briefest of seconds.

“...Right. Sorry. Akechi. I don't want you to think you have to do this. It was his own damn fault for running out and falling asleep in the cold. Don't think you can't say no to this,” he warned. Akechi smiled and turned to Sojiro now to look him in the eyes.

“Him running out was my fault. I'm the reason he fell asleep here. I want to make sure that he's okay. He's a friend of mine, and I admittedly don't have very many of those. So please, let me take care of him,” he said. Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at the floor for a brief second before letting his hand slap down against his thigh.

“Alright. Fine. You can take care of him. Can't promise that couch upstairs is gonna be comfortable to sleep on though,” he warned. Minato actually scowled and began to open his mouth to argue that maybe Akechi wasn't the best idea, given he was the whole reason Akira had shut down in the first place, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him and kept him quiet. Souji then leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“I trust Akechi. I have a gut feeling that by the time Akira's fever breaks, everything will be okay,” he said. Minato snorted in obvious disbelief and turned to Souji.

“You're really trusting our kids to get things sorted out in the span of a few days?” he whispered back. Souji chuckled warmly, which set Minato's stomach to flipping, and patted his ass none too gently or subtly.

“If I'm wrong I'll treat you to dinner, no matter the cost. I'll take out a loan if I have to,” he said, breaking out into laughter at the end as Minato reached up to smack his shoulder. “I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'll hold you to that. And if they do get shit sorted out I'll wear that maid outfit for you,” he huffed. The glimmer in Souji's eye made him groan and roll his eyes back into his head; he'd fucked up now, throwing that suggestion back out there. “Dammit now I have to go buy one...”

“Only if things are taken care of by the time Takemi gives him an all clear,” Souji reminded him as he pulled away. The conversation between Sojiro, Akechi, and Takemi came to an end just as they finished their own hushed conversation, which prompted Takemi to turn to Minato.

“Normally I'd charge for this, but I owe you a favor, so I'll let this one slide,” she said and motioned for him to follow her into the back room. Souji now turned to Fuuka, who flushed ever so slightly at the scrutiny.

“Minato was the one who bought her this clinic. He happened to be visiting the hospital where she worked before this and heard her plight. She's one of the only doctors he actually trusts, because she was the only one to try and help him when he was sick shortly after high school,” she explained. “She's actually his primary care physician because of it.”

“Huh. She must be a damn good doctor then, for Minato trust her,” Souji said. The door leading further into the clinic opened and out stepped Minato, Akira cradled in his arms and dead asleep to the world around him.

“Idiot kid, falling asleep outside in the damn cold, can't even fucking keep your shit together, I swear I'm gonna...” He continued muttering to himself as he walked out, ignoring everyone around him and focusing entirely on getting Akira back into bed at Leblanc, not even really noticing noticing Takemi hot on his heels. Sojiro stuttered for a moment before following after them and saying something about taking it easy on the kid.

Futaba somehow managed to hold back a snort and turned to Fuuka.

“Hey so uhhh...I really look up to you, so like...can I ask how you were able to find the idiot when even I couldn't?” Fuuka began twisting her fingers around together as she thought for a moment before pulling her phone out.

“I need to ask about that, actually. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to let you in or not,” she said. “Maybe we could talk about this somewhere private? Your home isn't far from here. I honestly want to see what your setup looks like.” Futaba's eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect of actually having Juno in her home, and in her overzealous excitement she lurched forward to grab Fuuka's wrist to pull her along.

“Hell yeah, I can show you what my setup looks like! Oh but I'm gonna warn you I've got a lot of Featherman figures in my room, so you'll have to be careful not to mess them up or anything,” she said. Fuuka giggled behind her as she shoved her phone into her pocket and very carefully slipped her wrist out of Futaba's grasp to instead walk beside her. Souji and Akechi watched them walk down the streets together, laughing and giggling to each other and gushing about Featherman of all things, with a small smile on their faces.

“It's nice to see them getting along so well,” Souji said as he and Akechi took off in the opposite direction towards the cafe. “We've met a few times before now, since she's one of Minato's friends. She's actually the one who helped Minato back when he was working.”

“Really? Her? She seems so quiet,” Akechi said. “...Hey. How is Minato doing?” Souji came to a stop and stared down at his feet.

“He's doing fine. It's strange for him to suddenly show emotion so openly, but it's...nice. It's much easier for us to have a conversation with each other. It's actually kind of cute to see him openly excited for something instead of trying to piece together how he's feeling from his voice and eyes,” he chuckled. “When Fuuka told him that Akira was in the clinic here he actually looked panicked for a second before he took off. He laughed at something stupid last night and he actually smiled about it. I'm still worried about him, but he seems to be getting used to things slowly.” They stepped into Leblanc just in time to see Minato come downstairs with a bottle of water in in his hand. He brushed his hair out of his face and waved gently to Souji and Akechi.

“He's in bed. Tae sedated him so he'd actually sleep, because it looked like he hadn't slept in a few days. He'll wake up in a few hours, and he's supposed to be fed when he does. She left his medication upstairs, just basic fever reducers and pain killers, make sure he takes them with food. You know, normal things you do when you're taking care of someone who's sick,” he said, hand waving around animatedly as he spoke. “She's checking on him right now and she'll be down in a few minutes. He's gonna be out of it, from the sedative and the fever both, so be careful with him and make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid.”

“It's Akira, his specialty is doing stupid things isn't it?” Souji asked. Minato snorted at that and slid down into one of the booths with a sigh. He opened the bottle of water to take a swig of it before setting his chin on his palm and staring at Souji with a slightly amused smirk.

“I mean you're not wrong, but that's what Akechi is here for,” Minato pointed out with a wave of his hand in the direction of the brunette. “So if anything happens to him I know who the blame. Now I'm hungry, and would like some company while I stuff my face and before all of Akira's friends start showing up. Futaba let them all know he's been found.” Akechi shot Souji a knowing and teasing smirk before making his way upstairs to speak with Takemi.

When she saw him she stood up from the edge of the bed and gestured towards a bottle of pills resting on the table beside the bed.

“Those are his medications. Two pills every four hours, or whenever he wakes up, make sure he takes them with food. Plenty of water and plenty of rest, and he should be good to go by the end of the week. He'll be out for another few hours, so you won't really have to stay up here until then,” she said. Her arms crossed in front of her as she glared at Akechi, obviously none too happy with circumstances. “You mentioned this was your fault. Am I allowed to ask what happened to cause him to run out of a warm cafe at night and fall asleep in the doorway of my clinic?”

“I would rather not talk about it,” Akechi admitted. “It's personal. What our fight was about. And it's a sore subject for the both of us.” She shifted her weight from one hip to the other and began tapping her nails on her coat sleeve. She wanted an answer, but Akech wouldn't give her one. “I'm not telling you. It's nothing you need to worry about. And I don't want to talk about it right now.”

“I'm not happy that the person who caused him to act so reckless is the one taking care of him, but you did offer. So I'm going to trust that you won't cause any more issues with him,” she said. “I'm sure his friends will be by to visit him, so just make sure that if he wakes up while they're here they're careful. Actually it would probably be better if you stopped letting people visit before the sedative wears off. Think you can do that?”

“I believe I can take care of a sick person. Especially one who obviously can't function without help,” he said. A poor attempt at a joke that apparently decided to go over Takemi's head, as she simply rolled her eyes at him and walked off down the stairs.

“Just don't let him downstairs like this,” she warned him as she hit the landing. She spared a small wave to Minato as she stepped outside and made her way back to her clinic finally. Akechi forced the tension from his body and turned Akira's pathetic excuse for a T.V on before settling on the couch to watch a bit of television. Of course, the first thing he saw as it flickered to life was Shido's face plastered on the screen, going on about some sort of plan he had for the country once he found himself situated firmly in the prime minister's seat. Hearing his voice made Akechi's stomach curl and prompted him to quickly shut the T.V off and almost chuck the remote at the wall across from him. The only thing that kept him from breaking was the fact that it would likely break the remote, piss Sojiro off, and could also possibly wake Akira up somehow.

He remembered the conversation he had with Shido the other day, about him trying to campaign for Shido to make sure he would get his seat. Akechi was popular enough, especially with the younger women, and if he said Shido was a good choice then everyone would believe him without question. The thought of lying to so many people about how good of a person he actually was made him physically ill and want to cry, which was an impressive feat. He wished he could just off Shido, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with kidnapping Shido for an execution, even if it was what he wanted.

He laughed suddenly at the thought that maybe Akira would be the one to kill Shido. How amusing would that be honestly?

The sound of the bell jingling downstairs caught his ears for some reason, which let him hear the sudden pounding and rushed footsteps coming upstairs. He leaned off the couch to reprimand whoever was running but felt his tongue go numb.

Ryuji braced himself against the frame, obviously out of breath and favoring his bad leg. Instead of snapping at him for potentially waking Akira up he stood up from the couch and began hauling Ryuji over to the couch instead.

“Ryuyu did you run here? Why? You know you still need to be careful with your leg,” he said. Ryuji turned to prop his leg up on the couch and leaned back against the armrest with a grunt. Pain shot up through his leg with every beat of his heart.

“Heard Aki-chan was sick, and I had to check on him...is he asleep?” he asked quietly. Akechi shook his head and propped an extra pillow underneath Ryuji's leg for more support.

“Yes and no. Takemi sedated him so he would actually sleep. She said it seems like he hasn't slept much in the past few days, he'll be up in a few hours. Wait here, I'll get you some ice,” he said and hurried off downstairs. Sojiro straightened his back up a bit at the fact that Akechi was actually running now.

“Is something wrong? Ryuji just ran in, did you tell him about Akira?” he asked. Akechi ducked off into the kitchen without even thinking and grabbed a dishrag from the counter before pulling the freezer open.

“Ryuyu's leg is messed up, he shouldn't have run here and now it's bothering him,” he said almost too quickly for anyone to understand. Lucky Sojiro had practice from Futaba speaking excitedly to him about whatever new show she had gotten invested in or some new breakthrough she'd managed to make in her computer work.

“He need anything to take for it? I've got some stuff in the first aid kit in here,” Sojiro said. Akechi shook his head and grabbed the makeshift ice pack before hurrying off back upstairs, completely missing the way Minato's head shook from side to side.

“He's got it bad,” he chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. Souji hummed to himself and felt his lips curl up in a small smile as he did the same.

“Oh you have no idea, Minato,” he hummed.

Upstairs Akechi rushed over to set the ice pack on Ryujis knee, jerking back a bit when Ryuji hissed at the pressure on it. After giving the sensation a few seconds to die down he set it back down again, relaxing when Ryuji didn't flinch away this time. After letting out another pained groan he opened his eyes and gave Akechi a warm and friendly smile.

“Thanks, Go-chan. Sorry I worried you. I was just...really worried about Aki-chan. I just got a text outta nowhere from Futaba about him bein' sick and had to come check on him. Knew he was gettin' sick yesterday at the party. Told him to take it easy.” He looked over to Akira, laying in bed and still out of it, and winced. “He looks bad...”

“Takemi said he would be better in a few days, Ryuyu. Don't worry about him, okay? Why don't we watch something. He's got plenty of DVD's laying around,” Akechi suggested. Ryuji lit up at the suggestion and began bouncing slightly on the couch.

“Sounds great! There's some movies underneath the desk, there's a horror movie in there I wanted to watch with you,” he said. Akechi reached underneath the desk and found a small box of movies that looked well worn. He scooted the box over to the couch to let Ryuji look through them and laughed softly to himself when the blond held the DVD in question up with a flourish.

“Da da da daaaaaa~! Bingo! Here's the one,” he said. While Akechi pushed the box back into its place underneath the desk Ryuji shifted on the couch into a more comfortable sitting position. He handed the case over to Akechi, who fought with the DVD player for a few moments before finally getting it set up, and dragged the chair from the desk over next to the couch to sit beside Ryuji. Just as he was about to start the movie the bell jingled and the sound of Yuuki telling Yusuke to be careful drifted up to them.

“It looks like we're going to have some company,” Akechi said. Ryuji shrugged and shifted a bit more into the back of the couch.

“Eh. It's fine. Just means we can't watch the movie though. Yuuki's kinda jumpy around movies like this,” he said loud enough to obviously get the other boy's attention and tease him. It worked, since Yuuki gasped in mock indignation as he came up the stairs.

“I don't have a problem with scary movies!” he argued with a laugh. “Stop saying things like that Ryuji!” Yuuki walked over to swat at Ryuji's good leg as Yusuke looked around the small attic room in surprise.

“I've never actually been up here. Is this really where Akira stays?” he asked. After assessing his surroundings he felt himself scowl a little bit. “It seems so painfully bland...perhaps we should help decorate this place one day?”

“I think he might like that,” Yuuki said as he looked around the room as well. “It really does look boring. It almost reminds me of my parents' room. Hey, maybe once he's better we can all head off to Dome Town together! Kind of like a celebration for him getting better.” Yusuke turned to him and set a hand on his chin in thought.

“I've never been there before, but I've heard of it. Perhaps it would be a good outing for all of us. Don't friends sometime go out to places like that together?” His attention turned to the television flickering on the DVD menu and hummed in thought. “Oh? Were you and Ryuji planning on watching this?”

“Yeah, I wanted to watch it with Go-chan, I think he might like it and Aki-chan won't be awake for a while,” he answered. “You guys can stick around if you want and watch it with us. Not sure where you'd sit though. Kinda can't get up off the couch.”

“Perhaps Sojiro would be willing to let us bring some chairs upstairs for everyone. I suspect Akira will be getting more visitors than just us,” Yusuke pointed out.

“I'm willing to bet money on it,” Ryuji laughed as Akechi stood up out of his chair. “Goin' to go get some?”

“I am. I also need to speak with Souji and Minato,” he answered. Thankfully he hadn't missed them, as they were both standing and chatting with Sojiro like they were preparing to leave. Souji waved to Akechi when he noticed him and nudged Minato in the side to get his attention. “Ah. Good. You're still here. Perhaps we could speak outside? If you aren't busy.”

“Yeah. Souji and I were about to head back to his place,” Minato answered. He dropped more than enough to pay for the coffee he and Souji shared before stepping outside and leaning against the wall beside the door. The other two followed him out shortly afterwards. “Before you start asking questions I wanna know what the hell happened that made Akira do what he did.”

“Yesterday was Ryuyu's...Ryuji's birthday party,” he corrected, not sure if Akira had used the nickname while speaking with Minato. “He looked horrible, and seemed distant. No emotions. Like...how you were. I called him out on it and fought with him and the last thing he said to me before he ran off was that I should confess to Ryuji. Because I would make him happier than Kurusu could. I...how does he know how I feel?” Souji and Minato both looked between each other, sharing some sort of secret that Akechi wasn't privy too, before turning their attention back on him.

“He knew because you basically told him. Apparently the first time you two had sex you said his name instead of Akira's,” Minato said calmly. When Akechi's face went blood red he continued, coming to the conclusion that Akechi likely needed this. “It's actually been a bit of a sore spot for Akira for a while, that you called Ryuji's name and not his. He just never said anything about it. It is pretty rude to moan another guy's name when you're in bed you know.” He turned to Souji now, who quickly ducked his head in shame. After making sure he got his point across he turned back to Akechi. “He mentioned it's been bothering him for a while, and even more so after he began seeing Ryuji.”

“Oh. I...I had no idea.” He set a hand on his face over his mouth and began to stare holes in his shoes. “I didn't know that I'd done that. I...oh I'm so embarrassed now. No wonder he told me I should say something. I can't though. I don't want to upset Ryuji or Kurusu by throwing my feelings into the mix. I'm happy for them together. And I know once he has gotten over himself he can make Ryuji just as happy as I could.” Souji's mouth opened in obvious agitation but Minato's hand slapping over it stopped him from saying anything. “Believe me. I'm just as frustrated as you are. And I'm very sorry I got him sick.”

“You didn't give him anything, he's the one who decided to run out of the cafe in the middle of the damn night,” Minato said. “Just take care of him and make sure he gets better, alright? You two have work to do still.”

“I know. That's another reason why I wanted to speak with you two. Kurusu seems intent on dealing with Ryuji's father by himself, but I want to be involved. He made Ryuji's life hell when we were younger and hurt him. But my voice...”

“You want to learn how to disguise your voice right? Well...talk to us after Akira's back on his feet and we'll see what we can do,” Souji said.

“Thank you, Seta-senpai. I'll remember that. And I promise that I'll make sure he recovers soon, Arisato-san.” Minato groaned and leaned back ever so slightly with a bit of a smile on his face.

“I told you to call me Minato! Ugh, come on, I'm not that old,” he argued. When Souji grabbed his wrist to pull him along he burst into warm laughter and waved goodbye to Akechi. The brunette let out a quiet chuckle before turning to head back inside. Sojiro's head raised when he heard the door jingle again before grunting and going back to his crossword when he saw Akechi.

“Sakura-san, I was wondering if-”

“Boss.” His head raised again as he dropped his crossword onto the wood of the counter in front of him. “I told you guys to call me Boss, and I meant it. Now what is it?” Akechi paused in surprise at being interrupted but regained his composure fairly quickly.

“...I came to ask if you would mind us bringing some of these stools upstairs. We're expecting more visitors for Kurusu and there's only one seat upstairs,” he explained. Boss grunted at him and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from underneath the counter.

“Geeze, it feels like you kids' favorite thing to do is make me close up shop early,” he huffed. Before Akechi could offer an apology he added, “But I can't even really focus on anything knowing the kid's sick upstairs, so I'm gonna let it go. Should probably also go make sure Futaba's doing okay.”

“I'm sure she's fine. She's made friends with that girl who was here before. It seemed like they knew each other already, and they both went back to your home,” he answered. “But thank you ummm...Boss. I promise I'll lock up tonight after everyone leaves.”

“I'll hold you to that kid,” he said. The bell over the door jingled again and without looking Sojiro raised his voice. “We're closing up early, sorry.”

“Oh, ummm...we wanted to visit Akira. Is it too late?” Makoto asked quietly; behind her Ann and Shiho stood with the door still propped open behind them. “We can leave if we have to...” Sojiro shrugged and stepped out from behind the counter, dropping his apron on a hook and grabbing his crossword back up again.

“Just don't wreck the place. He won't be awake tonight probably, so if you wanna leave you're more than welcome to. Akechi here's gonna stick around and keep an eye on him so don't feel like you have to stick around,” he said. “Don't know if any of you know how to cook, but you kids are more than welcome to order in if you want to. Just make sure to clean the place before you leave.” He scooped his hat up from under the counter as he left the building. Akechi turned to Makoto and gave her the warmest smile he could muster under the circumstances.

“Would you three be willing to help me bring some of these stools upstairs? I'm afraid there's only one seat available,” he said. The trio nodded and each grabbed two stools to haul upstairs, clearing them all out from the downstairs area and setting them up around the T.V so they could all watch the movie together. After popping back downstairs again to lock the door he returned upstairs and took his seat in the desk chair.

“Hey, why does Akechi get the good chair?” Ann whined. “ These stools are actually kind of uncomfortable...” Ryuji scowled at her and waved her off as the opening credits of the movie began to roll.

“Don't get mad at Go-chan, only reason the couch ain't open is because I was stupid 'nd ran here when I shouldn't have. Now hush, the movie's starting,” he huffed and shifted his leg around on the couch to a more comfortable position. The throbbing had subsided finally but the pain still lingered. Makoto had asked him about it when she came up but had gotten brushed off with an embarrassed mutter. Akechi's chair had been pushed flush to the edge of the couch and meant he could feel a bit of the body heat coming from Ryuji.

As the movie played on and the conversations died out in favor of clinging to each other tightly Akechi's eyes were glued almost entirely on Ryuji, who seemed perfectly fine with whatever seemed to be on the screen. His eyes glittered in the low lighting and the shadows on his face somehow made him even more handsome. The ice pack appeared to be melting which gave him an excuse to go downstairs and maybe clear his head a little bit.

Akira's words from before drifted to the front of his mind as he wrung the rag out in the sink and disposed of the rest of the ice. That he needed to confess to Ryuji soon, that he could make Ryuji happier than Akira could. It disgusted him to think there was a part of him seriously considering this now all of a sudden. Maybe the revelation that he had ruined things with Akira by moaning Ryuji's name instead of his had something to do with it. That cat was out of the bag, so to speak, so why should he lie anymore?

Akira. That's why. He loved Akira almost as much as he loved Ryuji, and the thought of ripping Ryuji away from him hurt just as much as the prospect of not actually having either of them as his own. Breaking them up would only cause a worse rift in Akira's mental state after all. He had to protect them both, and if that meant keeping quiet then he would keep quiet.

With the ice pack tied back up again he hurried back upstairs to set it back on Ryuji's leg again. Ryuji thanked him and reached forward to steady the ice pack on his knee, fingers brushing ever so gently against Akechi's and setting his heart beating at a rapid pace. A blush raised on the brunette's face as he settled back into his seat, and he thanked his lucky stars that the minimal lighting hid the coloring on his skin.

After the movie ended Akechi managed to spin a somewhat believable tale about how much he enjoyed the movie and made a mental note to actually go back later and watch it for real. Ryuji obviously wanted to watch it with him because he might have enjoyed it, but the way the blond looked kept his attention too well. Ryuji talked him into dragging the box of movies back over again and picked out a different one for them to watch. Makoto did the honor of putting the movie in as Akechi checked on Akira.

He still appeared to be asleep, and a quick brush of a hand against his forehead confirmed the fever hadn't gone down any yet. It didn't feel like he'd gotten any warmer, and that was mostly what Akechi was worried about. After making sure that the covers weren't too tight around him he settled back in his seat again for the second movie.

Barely even thirty minutes into the movie and Akechi's ears picked up on the sound of snoring to his right. Without saying a word he leaned forward to stop the movie, smiling just a bit more when he heard the soft sounds of Ann fighting down a yawn behind him.

“It's later than I thought it was,” Makoto said as she stood from the stool. “Sis will probably be worrying about me. I should hurry home.”

“I believe that's a good idea. Madarame will likely give me an earful for being gone for so long,” Yusuke said. “It appears that Ryuji has fallen asleep...will he be staying here as well?”

“No, I think it would be best if you carried him home.” Akechi grabbed two of the stools to carry them downstairs and added, “If it isn't too much of an issue, of course.”

“I assure you that it isn't. I'm worried that moving him will wake him up.” Beside him Yuuki laughed and grabbed the stool he had been using to bring it down as well.

“Don't worry about it. Once he's asleep he stays asleep. It takes a lot to wake him up,” he promised. “Just grab him and bring him with us, alright? The sooner we get home the better.” Yusuke very carefully reached underneath the sleeping blond to bring him up and cradle him in his arms, and sure enough Ryuji remained asleep. He carefully made his way downstairs with his back braced against the wall to keep himself steady and immediately leaned into the brush of Yuuki's hand against his shoulder.

“Take care getting back home, all of you,” Akechi said as they all filed out of the cafe together. “I know Kurusu and Ryuyu would be upset to hear any of you were hurt tonight.”

“We will. Just make sure that Akira gets better, alright? We're trusting you to take care of our friend, after all,” Makoto said. The sternness in her voice and the severe look to her eyes made Akechi's dart off to the side. “Let one of us know how he's doing in the morning please.”

“I'll make sure to text Ryuyu as soon as he wakes up. I'm sure the message will spread around to the rest of you soon enough,” he whispered. “Goodnight, everyone.” A chorus of 'goodbye's' and 'see you later's' sounded much louder than they were in the cold evening air as the group filed off and peeled away from each other to go to their homes.

He was surprised to see Akira sitting up in bed and groaning to himself with a hand on his head. Obviously the sedative had finally worn off, which meant Akechi needed to feed Akira. Thankfully he'd had the foresight to make something light for him to eat.

“Akechi...?” Akira rubbed at his eyes and blinked a few times to try and clear his vision up. There was no way it was really him standing at the top of the stairs, but...there was no mistaking those soft red eyes of his. “Why are you here...?”

“I was asked by Arisato-san to take care of you,” he answered. “One moment, I need to heat your soup up so you can take your medicine.” He heard a whine and stopped with one foot in the air on the step behind him and a hand braced on the railing. “Kurusu?”

“You shouldn't have stayed. I don't...need you to take care of me,” he muttered as he pulled himself to his feet. The stumble as he righted himself had Akechi hurrying across the room to support him and keep him from hitting the floor in a heap.”Where's Ryuji?”

“Home. He fell asleep on the couch earlier. You need to stay in bed, you have a fever,” he said and tried to force Akira to at least sit on the edge of the mattress. Somehow Akira had enough strength left in his body to fight him, as the only thing Akechi's pushing succeeded in doing was making him whine and push back. “Do you want to make yourself even sicker? Stop fighting me, at least sit back down if you won't go back to sleep.”

“No. I'm fine. Stop worrying about me,” he mumbled. He took a few shaky steps towards the stairs before swaying from side to side and groaning again. Everything felt unsteady beneath his feet, especially with the backs of his eyes beginning to pound with pressure. The heels of his palms dug in until light flashed across his vision. “Ugh...fuck...”

“Seriously, stop arguing with me. I don't think Ryuyu would be happy if you made things worse with your stubbornness,” Akechi huffed and grabbed Akira's arm. He barely made contact before Akira was jerking away from him and staring at him with glassy, fogged up, fevered eyes.

“Why are you taking care of me? If I'm gone you'd have Ryuji, right? Shouldn't you want that?” The brunette stepped backwards in surprise, confusion written across his face in neat strokes. Did Akira really believe that he could be so damn heartless?

“No. I don't want you to die. Ryuyu would be upset, and-”

“Ryuji would be fine. You'd be there to support him. He doesn't need me,” he said. His words slurred together thanks to his heat fried brain, and Akechi felt a scowl ruin his pretty face.

“Kurusu stop it. It's the fever talking, this isn't really you,” he muttered. This time when Akechi grabbed him he kept a vice grip on Akira's arm, which he fought by trying to pull away. Akechi had a much better grasp on his center of balance given that he wasn't currently running a fever, meaning the sudden tugging motion did nothing to take him off balance. “Please. Lay back down. You need rest.” Akira stilled, seemingly contemplating whether or not listening to Akechi would really be the best option, before obviously deciding against it and instead throwing himself forward to shove them both to the floor. When Akechi's head hit the wood everything fizzled out for a split second before coming back with painfully sharp clarity.

Akira sat perched above him, sweat pooling and dripping from the edge of his hairline and down his face towards his chest. Under any other circumstances Akechi might find the sight arousing; now it just worried him. Before he could throw out a protest Akira began speaking again.

“Why do you pretend to like me? We both know you don't. I'm standing in the way of you loving Ryuji. I'm keeping you two from being together like you deserve. The...the photo only made me realize it more. I shouldn't be here. It should be you two together, not Ryuji and I. You two looked so happy...” A few warm drops fell to Akechi's face; he immediately figured out these weren't drops of sweat but rather pained tears. “I took your place. Do you...have any idea what it's like watching the people you love...love each other? Why...” He wobbled, arms unlocking and sending him tumbling a bit to the right before enough of him came back to catch himself and stay upright. The tears fell harder, but the look of pain and sadness had been replaced by one of anger and frustration. “Why can't...why can't he love me the way he loves you!?” Akechi's jaw dropped in stunned silence as Akira's arms gave out again. Their foreheads nearly slammed together but at the last second Akira managed to catch himself before whispering with a voice so laced with frustration and confusion that for a moment Akechi felt as though he were in Akira's head, “Why can't you love me the way you love him?”

Finally his arms gave out as his consciousness slipped away, leaving him flopping onto Akechi, who continued to lay there and try to piece together what the hell he would do in response to the emotional bomb that Akira just dropped on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hacker profile: Juno  
> Aka: Fuuka Yamagishi  
> Status: semi-active  
> Occupation: Mitsuru's assistant   
> Affiliated with Reaper (unknown to public)  
> Background: Fuuka always had an affinity for computers and technology; it's how she found out about Natsuki's stalker. She had been trying to convince her friend to go to the police when the guy attacked...only to be cut down by Reaper, her classmate Minato Arisato. The girls helped him cover up the kill as an accident, and Fuuka heard his wish to change the world out. She became Juno, a hacker known to mainly leak the identities of abusive people when she wasn't finding absolutely guilty targets for Reaper. Since Minato's retirement she still continues to expose people for what they are, just not as often since her mundane job keeps her busy.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL READY FOR THIS!?  
> Not updating tags until next chapter.  
> Also I never lied, they did get together. <3

Akechi picked at his food without really eating any of it, occasionally reaching over to take a sip from his coffee without ever actually drinking any. Really, he meant to, but every time he tried his brain would veer completely to the left and derail his plans. Akira was still asleep upstairs in bed, the fever and trace amount of sedative still in his system dragging him back under for another few hours. Sojiro moved around behind the counter to prepare the cafe for the day while keeping an eye on Akechi where he sat.

“How's Akira?” he asked, hoping that maybe having something to talk about would bring Akechi back at least a little bit. Something was obviously bothering him and the last thing Akira needed was a caretaker who couldn't focus enough to take care of him. “Has he been fed?”

“No he hasn't. He woke up for a few moments last night but it wasn't enough to feed him,” he answered. “I'm sure he'll wake up soon enough. You could go check on him.” Sojiro dropped his rag down onto the counter and leaned forward to prop himself on the wood and glare at Akechi.

“Look. Something's bothering you, and considering you're taking care of that idiot, you need to get your shit together,” he said, surprising even Akechi with how forceful he sounded. “Whatever it is, you need to deal with it, okay? I don't need him getting bad enough to end up in the hospital. If this...funk...of yours is gonna cause problems with that and you can't get it sorted, then you need to find someone else to keep an eye on him. You hear me?” Akechi let out a soft sound from the back of his throat and began picking at his food again.

“I know. I'm...dealing with it. Hopefully I'll have everything under control by this evening,” he breathed. “I don't mean for it to affect me like this. It's just...I've had some distressing news given to me. And I'm trying to figure out how best to deal with it.” He finally took a bite of the curry and closed his eyes to hum in appreciation at the taste. Sojiro knew just how to make it so it wouldn't be too spicy for him. “The food is delicious as always, Sak...Boss.” Sojiro cracked a smile at him and straightened back up to finish getting everything ready.

“You're learning. And I'm gonna hold you to getting everything straightened out before tonight, too. You're a smart guy, after all,” he said. A chuckle vibrated in his chest as he took a sip of his now cold coffee.

“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Boss,” he said. After taking another few bites of his curry and another few drinks from his cup he slid out of the booth to head back upstairs. When Sojiro had shown up earlier that day to open the cafe, Akechi had taken the opportunity to head back home and get a bit of his work to do while he was stuck upstairs playing nurse. His books and papers were spread out across the desk, a few pens clipped to keep the loose sheets together. Doing schoolwork while watching after a sick person was definitely not something he thought he would be doing with his life.

About two hours into his work his phone chimed with Ryuji's ringtone. He welcomed the brief distraction and decided he could afford to talk for a little bit.

_How's Aki-chan? Has he woke up yet?_

Akechi's lips pursed at the question. He remembered Akria's fever-addled questions, the obvious confession not only from Akira, but apparently also from Ryuji as well. Did he really feel that way? Or was Akira spouting bullshit? Should he ask Ryuji himself about it? That ran the risk of embarrassing the both of them no matter the outcome. But...part of Akechi wanted to find out.

_He has. Would you be able to come by Leblanc? There's something I want to discuss with you._

_Yeah, sure. Gotta get out of school, but I'll come right over. He doing okay?_

_Still asleep, actually. My apologies, I should have mentioned that. He woke up briefly last night. His fever hasn't gone down unfortunately. Hopefully that will change once he's eaten and taken his medicine._

_I hope so. I'm real worried about him. Make sure he eats if he wakes up, got it? Tell him I said I'll get mad if he doesn't._

_I'll make sure to pass the message along, Ryuyu. Now pay attention in class for once. <3_

He didn't realize he'd added the heart at the end until after he'd sent the message and the sound he made could have easily passed for some sort of strangled animal. His brain short circuited and didn't let him stop the message in time, which meant Ryuji absolutely saw that. Maybe...maybe it wouldn't mean anything. Maybe Ryuji would only think of it as an accident or a friendly tease or something. He'd gotten so far with not letting on to his feelings and suddenly Akira threatened to topple everything into the water.

When his phone chimed again he hesitated to look at the text.

_Oh shut it, Go-chan. I'll have you know I passed all my tests. :P_

Akechi physically felt his shoulders droop down into a much more relaxed position as his heart leveled out and his breathing returned to normal. Crisis averted.

_I'm proud of you. I knew all that extra studying would help you. Keep it up and you'll be at the top of your class in no time._

_Only 'cuz of you and Aki-chan. Gotta go tho, teacher's looking at me._

The brunette set his phone down onto the desk beside him again and picked up a pen to continue with his work. Soon he found himself lost to the rhythm of it all, only realizing just how long he had been at it until Sojiro came upstairs and knocked on the wood of the wall.

“Hey. You should probably eat something. You haven't come downstairs in about five hours,” he said. Akechi set his pen down and picked up his phone to check and, sure enough, it had been almost eight hours since his conversation with Ryuji. More than likely he would be coming by Leblanc soon.

“Once Ryuyu gets here. I'll eat then,” he said and pushed himself away from the desk. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose to stave off the slight headache he felt coming on. “He's on his way here to visit myself and Akira for a while. He would probably appreciate the food.”

“I'm gonna go ahead and make some food for you two then. That way it'll still be warm when he gets here,” he said and turned to make his way back downstairs. Akechi stood and stretched to ease some of the tension out of his body. Maybe staying hunched over a desk for so long wasn't good for him after all. Even at school or working at the station he he always made time for breaks.

He walked over to press a hand against Akira's forehead again and, as suspected, the fever hadn't broken yet. He knew he would need to change Akira's clothes and even the sheets soon, but part of him wasn't looking forward to it. He may not be heavy but Akechi also wasn't the strongest person in the world.

Just as his feet hit the wood of the cafe the door opened and Ryuji stepped in with his bag dragging the ground beside him. His shoulders drooped and his head hung low. When he raised his head and his eyes met Akechi he forced a smile to his face that barely reached his eyes.

“Hey Go-chan. What have you been up to all day?” he asked. He dropped his school bag down in one of the booths and slid in with a huff. Akechi slid in across from him with a scowl.

“Ryuyu, what happened today? Are you alright?” he asked. Ryuji sighed again and waved his hand in dismissal.

“Don't worry 'bout it. Just shitty people, 's nothin' to worry about,” he muttered. Akechi crossed his left leg over the right and leaned forward onto the table with a growl.

“Obviously it's something to worry about, if you're acting like this. Please tell me what's wrong?” Ryuji shifted awkwardly in his seat and seemed to look everywhere around the room but actually at him.

“I don't...I don't wanna talk about it right now. Maybe later. Right now I just wanna talk to you for a little bit okay? Maybe watch a stupid movie or somethin'?” While Akechi wanted to argue more with him and press for answers he realized that maybe pushing the issue wasn't the smartest decision. Instead he nodded in agreement and gave the warmest smile he could muster. Any bit of support for Ryuji would be necessary support right now, with whatever seemed to be bothering him.

“Of course. I brought my laptop, so we could set it up on the table with the T.V and watch something that way. I went through the movies Kurusu has, and none of them seem to be anything I might like,” he said. This time when Ryuji smiled it went a little bit higher and that felt like enough of a victory for him.

“That sounds great. I'm kinda hungry too, you wanna run to Big Bang Burger 'nd get something from there?”Sojiro cleared his throat to get their attentions and motioned towards the pot of curry behind him.

“Figured you two might want something a little better than greasy fast food. Give it a bit and I'll feed you both,” he said. Ryuji wilted against the back of the seat and ran a hand through his hair roughly.

“Don't. You always give us free stuff, I can't do that anymore. I can actually pay this time,” he insisted. Now Sojiro looked like he wanted to argue but something about the kid's sour mood told him not to fight it. When he raised his hand a bit in defeat Ryuji turned to look at Akechi and gently tapped a foot against his shin underneath the table. “Thanks for the help yesterday by the way. For my leg. Was afraid when I woke up it'd be killin' me, but the ice really helped it out. I know I shouldn't have run, but...Aki-chan worried me.”

“He worried all of us, honestly. I've felt guilty ever since he ran out because I know it was my fault,” Akechi admitted. His face pinched into a painfully tight frown, his hands rubbing together slowly to keep himself from reacting too harshly. “I shouldn't have argued with him, I should have kept quiet...”

“What did you two even fight about? It was obviously something pretty upsetting for him to run off the way he did,” Sojiro asked. “I know you said it was personal but I think I should at least be the one to know.”

“...It was stupid and immature. We both were, and I would much rather put it behind me than continue dwelling on it. Please, let's just drop it, I'm begging you.” Sojiro looked upset at that answer and clicked his tongue before pushing himself off of the counter. No sense arguing with him if he won't answer after all. “Anyway. Ryuyu, why don't we head upstairs for now? I don't want to leave Kurusu alone for too long.”

“Why don't you call him Akira like everyone else?” Ryuji asked as he followed after Akechi upstairs. “You're the only one that still calls him Kurusu. 's kinda weird.” Instead of offering a proper answer Akechi walked over to his bag of things and fished his laptop out to set up. “Hey. Go-chan. Can I ask what the fight was about? Now that Boss ain't here, I hoped maybe you'd answer me.” This gave the brunette pause, body coming to a stop as he was doubled over with his hands buried in his satchel that he only ever carried around on his off-days.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched Ryuji walk over to hold Akira's hand. Even unconscious he responded immediately to the touch, squeezing back over so slightly and settling just a bit further into the covers. Akechi's movements were slow as he walked over to the table and began hooking everything up. 

“...We were fighting about you,” he admitted, a sudden burst of confidence (or a swell in stupidity) giving him enough fortitude to begin this conversation with him. “More specifically your relationship with each other.” Ryuji carefully sat down on the couch, wary about the fact that things could go any number of directions from here.

“What about our relationship? You got a problem with it? You never said anythin' about it before,” he said slowly. Akechi squatted down to reach underneath the table and plug his laptop in to the wall to charge. When he stood his hands gripped the edge of the table in a painfully tight, white knuckled grip.

“I don't have a problem with it, Ryuyu,” he whispered. “We were simply discussing his sudden admission of love to you. You've been through a lot, and I was worried that perhaps he was taking things a bit too quickly with you. Things got a little heated between us and he stormed out after...saying something that I don't honestly agree with.” He began clicking through his files to find the one he was searching for and set it up to play for them.

“Go-chan, I confessed to Aki-chan first. You can't be angry at him.” Akechi carefully sat down beside him on the couch and began to toy with the hem of his shirt. He pulled his bottom lip in to bite it nervously, wondering if he really could do this. Opening his mouth could potentially ruin their friendship if he were wrong, or it could potentially lead to something better for all three of them if he were right. More specifically, if Akira had been telling the truth.

“Ryuji, you've been my best friend for years,” he said. “When we were younger we were practically inseparable. Something with us just...clicked. When I left after my mother took her life the first thing on my mind was the fact that I couldn't even tell you goodbye or where I was going. The next eight years of my life, when we were separated, I would think of you and always come up with some stupid excuse not to get back in touch with you again. I would use the excuse of your father not allowing you to speak with me, or...or my new foster parents not allowing it, or never really being sure how long I would stay in a home and not wanting to subject you to so many contact changes. Stupid and childish excuses.”

“I don't care about that. I told you, 'm just glad you started talkin' to me again. When Ma and I saw you on T.V the first time I thought for sure you'd be too good to talk to us. When you showed up in my hospital room I thought I was havin' a dream or somethin'. You're my best friend, and 'm real glad you're here.” Both of Akechi's fists curled into his shirt as he took a slow and calming breath. Now or never, time to take the plunge. If he opened his mouth again, there was no turning back.

“...You're special to me too, Ryuji. Very, very special,” he said. When Ryuji's breath hitched Akechi swallowed with a click and forced himself to continue before he could be interrupted. “Honestly I think I've thought of you this way since we were younger before I really even understood what it was I felt for you. Seeing you always made me so happy, and I always wanted to be as close to you as possible. You meant the world to me and you still do in fact. Just...not the way you think, I'm sure.”

“Go-chan...” Ryuji shifted back away from Akechi a little bit and brought his good leg up to hold against his chest. “Please, don't...I confessed to Aki-chan first 'nd-”

“I need to say this. Kurusu said something that made me realize I needed to. It was part of our fight.” He brushed a bit of hair behind his ear and tore at his shirt almost hard enough to rip a few seams before turning towards Ryuji completely. There were so many things he wanted to say to Ryuji and for once in his life his famed silver tongue seemed to be failing him. Suddenly he found himself falling victim to a nervous habit he thought he had dropped years ago; he began chewing on his thumb nail again. After he realized what he was doing he quickly spat the piece of nail out and cleared his throat.

For a split second he considered leaning in and kissing Ryuji to get the point across but stopped himself. All it would bring was Ryuji getting angry with him and sputtering a reminder that he was with Akira. At least this way there would be no awkward kiss.

“...Ryuji I love you.” The force he used to tug at his shirt ripped a button loose and caused it to fly off across the room to skitter underneath the bed where Akira lay. “Honestly I've loved you for years but I never had the courage to tell you. As I said, I used stupid excuses to never speak with you again and I understand that you're with Kurusu but I needed to tell you. I wish I had told you sooner but at the same time...”

“Go-chan please-”

“I meant it when I said I wanted to take care of you for the rest of our lives,” Akechi said forcefully. The edges of his shirt bunched in his grasp, and he knew he would need to iron it later but right now he didn't care. “All the times I said that to you when we were younger...I really did mean it. And I still do.” Ryuji leaned forward to begin arguing with Akechi, reminding him that he was with Akira and even with the confession from someone that he felt the same for that wouldn't change, before he was cut off. “And now...I want to do the same with Akira.” Ryuji's jaw dropped in surprise, his voice suddenly leaving him. Akechi Felt his heart pounding in his chest at the confession now. This...this was it. He'd laid his feelings bare, and now it was up to Ryuji to decide what he would do now.

“...Go...ro...” Akechi's heart fluttered at the sound of his name from Ryuji's lips, instead of his nickname for once. “Do you...really care that much about us? You've only known Aki-chan for such a short time...”

“And you've only known him for just as long,” Akechi reminded him with a soft smile. There was no way Ryuji could know about the fact that he had actually known Akira for two years now, because that would raise questions. But Akechi was, if nothing else, a wonderful actor when the need arose. “I love you so much Ryuji. And I feel like...I love Akira as well. And I want you both so, so much. But I was so afraid to say anything to you or Akira because you were together, and I didn't...think you would feel the same about me. Either of you.”

“I'm guessin' the thing Aki-chan said had to do with you confessin' to me?” he asked, and Akechi laughing seemed to be answer enough for him. “Well 'm real glad you said somethin'. I just...really hope Aki-chan feels the same way about you too. Because I love you too.” He reached over and let his fingers wrap around Akechi's, a gentle blush coloring his skin a soft red. “I've loved you for years too. We were kids 'nd we were so close, 'nd when you left I cried so much. When I got older 'nd I saw you all the time my heart would do that stupid beatin' thing, 'nd I didn't realize what it was until I heard people talkin' about their crushes 'nd shit.”

“And you didn't tell me because you were afraid I wouldn't feel the same way about you, as well. Correct?” Ryuji nodded sharply and let himself scoot just a little bit closer to Akechi now. “We're both idiots, aren't we?”

“Looks like it,” Ryuji chuckled. “Can...can I kiss you? Please? Been wantin' to do it for a while now, actually...” Akechi hummed to himself and set a hand on the side of Ryuji's face.

“I've wanted to kiss you for some time as well,” he whispered and leaned forward to brush his lips against Ryuji's. The spark that danced across his lips made him gasp and lean in for a more insistent kiss, feeling his heart rate spike up when Ryuji pressed back into him. The hand on his cheek slid back to hold the back of his head, with one of Ryuji's arms looping up around Akechi's neck to hold him close. When they broke apart they burst into giggles at just how red they both were.

“Just as great as I thought it'd be.” The blond smiled dumbly before shoving his face into Akechi's neck and muttering, “I really hope Aki-chan feels the same about you. I don't wanna give you up.”

“I don't want to give you up either, Ryuyu. But...I have a sneaking suspicion that he wishes for a relationship with us as well.” His hand slid down from the back of Ryuji's neck to settle on the small of his back to hold him. His left hand dropped down to take Ryuji's right in his to hold. “Perhaps I should try to rouse him from his sleep now. He needs to eat and take his medicine.”

“Yeah. Think that might be best,” Ryuji said and pulled away from Akechi to walk over to the bed. He leaned forward and ran a hand through Akira's hair before leaning down to kiss him. A few moments later Akira groaned and his eyes fluttered slowly open. When Ryuji pulled back Akira whined and tried to lean forward to chase after him. “Hey, hey. C'mon man. You gotta eat. Sit up.”

“Don't wanna,” he whined and closed his eyes back again. Akechi leaned forward now to wrap his arms around Akira to haul him up into a sitting position. The whine he made was soft and childish and made Ryuji lean in to kiss him again.

“C'mon babe. You need to eat to get better,” he said. “Go-chan, can you see if Boss's finished with the curry?”

“Of course. I'll be back shortly,” Akechi said and trotted downstairs. Ryuji settled down onto the bed beside Akira and kissed his cheek with a warm smile. Akira whined louder and pressed his forehead into the side of Ryuji's neck. A hand began running through his hair and pulled another whine out of him, his eyes beginning to flutter shut again. He was beginning to doze off when Akech crested the top of the stairs again carrying two plates of curry with Sojiro following after him carrying a third.

“Glad to see you're awake. You here yet?” he asked as he walked towards the bed. Akira groaned again and forced his eyes open again. Everything looked blurry to him until he blinked the blur away. “Guess not. You guys okay feeding him?”

“I c'n feed myself,” Akira argued. He pulled away from Ryuji and made to stand up, but a hand pressed firmly into his shoulder kept him planted firmly on his ass. With another whine he pushed back against the hand and watched Akechi take a seat on the other side of him. He passed a plate over to Ryuji on the other side while Sojiro set the plate in his hand off on the table beside the bed. “Guuuuuuuys...”

“You're sick, Aki-chan. You need to rest. Let us take care 'a ya. Got it?” Akira seemed to finally give in to the demands, almost assuredly because Ryuji had been the one to speak, and leaned more into his boyfriend's side. When the smell of curry sat directly underneath his nose he opened his mouth to be fed. Sojiro chuckled and waved to them as he turned to head back downstairs again, leaving the three boys alone again.

“I'm surprised he's actually listening to us,” Akechi commented as he continued to feed Akira. “Even fevered I thought for sure he would be more argumentative.” Ryuji pressed a kiss to Akira's forehead and continued running a hand through his hair. The touch and sensations made him so much more compliant it seemed. “I hope he'll actually take his medicine as well.”

“Don't worry. He'll get better soon. I bet he'll get better even sooner 'cuz of the power of love,” Ryuji joked. When Akira raised his head he whined and leaned in for another kiss from Ryuji. “Bet that was one of the best ways you've woken up in a while.”

“Mmmm...woke up to someone blowing me once. That was pretty great,” he muttered. If he could have he would have given Akechi a knowing smirk, which would have only grown when he saw the way the brunette's face heated up. When Ryuji pouted he curled his lips up and added, “But that is definitely on the top of my 'favorite ways I've woken up' list.”

“Good. I was worried I'd have to fight someone for that,” Ryuji chuckled and kissed him again. Akechi thought he would have been jealous in the beginning of their relationship, watching the two be so affectionate with each other, but instead it made his heart melt in his chest and a very undignified grin spread on his lips. For a brief moment he wondered what the two of them would look like in bed together but fought that train of thought back. The likelihood of Ryuji ever actually being okay with sex after everything Kamoshida did to him was slim to none, and he both understood and felt okay with that information. So long as Ryuji was happy with them, it would be enough for him.

Oh. 'Them' wasn't a thing yet. They had yet to discuss this properly with Akira. But if they did that now, how much of it would Akira even remember?

“Hey. Aki-chan. There's...there's somethin' Go-chan 'nd I wanna talk to you about,” Ryuji said, seemingly deciding on his own to start this conversation now. Akira raised his head again, only muttering a soft swear in argument when Akechi reached over to feed him more. “Go-chan stop, I'm trynna talk to him.”

“If I keep feeding him when he tries to talk he'll actually eat,” Akechi chuckled, and Ryuji burst into laughter with him as well. Akira weakly reached up to weakly swat at the both of them while sticking his tongue out at them. Immediately Akechi turned to lean in and kiss Akira as well, startling both himself and Akira at the same time. For a split second Akira leaned into the kiss, even letting out a low, throaty moan, before pulling himself away and wiping at his lips. “He tastes like curry.”

“Akechi what the hell? I'm with Ryuyu, why are you kissing me, he's right there,” he snapped. When he felt Ryuji squirm next to him he turned to look at the blond. “I'm sorry about that Ryuyu.”

“...Don't. 'm not mad. It's actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” he admitted lowly. Akira's face screwed up in confusion at that, cute enough to prompt Akechi into kissing his cheek now. “We talked a bit about stuff. 'nd we wanted to know if you'd...be okay with datin' both of us.” The silence that settled in the attic felt uncomfortable and awkward until laughter began bubbling up from Akira's chest.

“This has gotta be the best fever dream I think I've ever had. The only thing that would make it better would be if I had cake or something,” he said. “Really not looking forward to waking up now.”

“You aren't dreaming, Akira,” Akechi said, finding it strange to be using his given name for once instead of his family name or his moniker of Joker and yet pleasant at the same time. Never before had a he found himself so close to another person to be allowed to use their given name, except with Sae, and even then he still held her in such high regard to himself that it felt wrong. But he and Akira were equals, both just trying to find love in their life and finally somehow being allowed to grasp it.

“What? Bullshit. This can't be real. It's too good to be true,” Akira muttered and laughed softly to himself. “Stupid dreams, getting my hopes up and shit. But hey, if this is a dream, then I may as well indulge, right?” He leaned in for another kiss, nipping at Akechi's bottom lip before running a tongue along it and teasing his mouth open for a deeper kiss. As much as Akechi wanted to continue the kiss he forced Akira away from him and set a hand over his mouth instead.

“You're sick. You still need to take care of yourself. If you push too hard you'll get worse. Eat, and take your medicine, and when you're better we can see where things go,” he promised. When Akechi reached up to scratch behind his ear he melted into the touch and continued to let himself be fed. When Akechi handed him the two pills to take he swallowed them down without complaint and practically purred when Ryuji wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him.

“Still don't think this is real,” he whispered and let his eyes fall closed. Akechi reached forward and took his hand to hold it as he began to drift off to sleep. They cracked open when he felt lips brush against the back of his knuckles and found Akechi giving him such an uncharacteristically warm smile that his heart began beating against his chest.

“I assure you, this is real, Akira. We both love you very much. We'll reassure you of this as much as needed once you're better,” he promised. Ryuji's eyes lit up suddenly, and he straightened up just a bit.

“We should set up a pallet on the floor! That way we can all sleep together in a huge cuddle pile! Maybe it'll help him feel better,” he suggested. Ryuji tapped his foot against Akechi's to get his attention and pouted at him. “Can you go see if Boss has some blankets we can borrow? Please?”

“Only because you're cute Ryuyu,” he said, giggling at the scoff that Ryuji let out and skipped downstairs to see Boss chatting with an elderly lady about politics from the sound of it. When she saw him her eyes lit up with the realization of who was standing in the cafe before her.

“You're that detective prince, aren't you! I never thought I would see you in a place like this, it's so out of the way! I saw you on television the other day talking about Shido. It's so nice to see young people involved in politics and making a stand for what they believe in,” she said. Akechi's stomach twisted painfully with the praise, the taste of acid settling on his tongue. He forced himself to smile and somehow pushed out a comfortable laugh.

“Yes, well. I understand just how influential I am with other people my age. I want to make Japan a better place, and the best way to accomplish that is by putting someone who knows what they're doing in the prime minister's seat, don't you think?” The line had been rehearsed over and over again to be rattled off at a moment's notice to anyone who asked. The brief moment's hesitation before beginning his spiel came from forcing himself not to say anything that could damage Shido's reputation.

“Such a smart young man,” she said and walked over to set a hand on his shoulder. “I hope you keep on the path you're going. I'm sure your parents will be proud of you.” Somehow, by sheer force of will, Akechi managed to keep himself from popping off with “My mother committed suicide when I was eight and my father is using me for his own gains, I could never make either of them proud,” and instead stretched the smile up even wider.

“I'm sure you're correct, ma'am,” he said. After patting his shoulder she pulled away and shuffled out of the cafe; once the door shut with a quiet jingle the smile dropped into a tense scowl instead. Sojiro noticed immediately and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Something bothering you?” he asked. Akechi shook his head from side to side and forced a new smile to his face.

“No, Boss. Everything is fine. I came down to ask if perhaps we could borrow some blankets? Ryuyu wants to set up a pallet on the floor upstairs to sleep on,” he said. Sojiro hummed in thought for a moment before dropping his rag onto the counter in front of him.

“Yeah, sure. Stay down here and keep an eye on the place while I run back to my place to get 'em,” he said. Akechi settled down into one of the booths to wait, pulling his phone out of his pocket to begin scrolling through his social media. He realized that he hadn't uploaded anything to his blog recently and wondered if maybe it would be a good idea to find another restaurant to visit soon...and perhaps bring Akira and Ryuji with him for it. A date actually sounded like a good idea, really, for all three of them. A way to break the ice between them all, so to speak.

The bell jingling over the door signaled Sojiro returning with an armful of thick blankets and pillows. Akechi hopped out of his seat to take a few of the blankets away from Sojiro to carry them upstairs, catching sight of Akira laying with his head in Ryuji's lap and his fingers laced with Ryuji's. His eyes weren't closed, letting just the barest hint of his gray irises showing beneath coal black lashes. Akechi clearing his throat convinced him to open them up just a little bit more.

“Don't fall asleep yet, Akira. I may be strong, but I can't move dead weight easily,” he said and began setting down blankets and pillows for the pallet. Sojiro was kind enough to help him as well, making sure to set it up wide enough for three people to lay on comfortably, before straightening up and rubbing at the small of his back.

“There we go. Hope it's comfortable enough for you,” he said. “If that's all, I'm heading back downstairs now. Let me know if you need help.” Akechi and Ryuji both thanked him as he disappeared back into the cafe, leaving the pair to begin dragging Akira down into the pallet to sleep with them.

“C'mon babe. Once we're curled up under the blankets you can sleep. Promise,” Ryuji said. Akira groaned like his ancestors had been offended and forced himself to slide between the blankets in the middle, Akechi sliding in on the left of him and Ruji on the right. They reached across Akira's waist to hold each other's hands and settled their heads on Akira's shoulders.

“This...is really nice,” Akira admitted sleepily. He reached up to rub at his eyes and yawned softly, trying to fight the sleep back. You don't usually actually feel tired in your dreams, right? So why did his eyes burn and his head feel like it had been stuffed with cotton? Obviously a very realistic dream, if he actually felt tired for once... “Definitely a good dream...”

“Can't wait until he realizes it's not a dream,” Ryuji chuckled softly and kissed Akira's cheek.

“I can't wait either,” Akechi agreed and pressed his lips against the other side. The soft sight that escaped Akira's lips made him smile even harder.

 

Akira felt...warm. Not on fire, but definitely, warm. He remembered storming out of Leblanc and falling asleep in front of Takemi's clinic door late at night and coming to a few hours later to Takemi shaking him awake, and then...not much else. He thought he remembered someone telling someone else that he had a fever and had gotten sick. And for some reason he thought he remembered...being fed...? What the hell?

Laying there with his eyes closed and his breathing even, he realized that for the first time in a long time he hadn't been woken up by nightmares awful enough to make him scream. Had the fever maybe put him under deep enough that they never came to him? Or did they fry his brain enough that he couldn't remember having them?

Weight against his ride side shifted around and an arm around his waist squeezed him tight. He turned to find Ryuji cuddling him in his sleep, drool rolling down his chin and into the pillow where he lay. Akira chuckled and leaned forward to kiss the top of his boyfriend's head lovingly and brought a hand down to hold the one across his chest-

Only to find that hand locked with someone else's. Turning to his left he saw Akechi asleep as well, nuzzling into his shoulder and looking so peaceful that he refused to actually wake Akechi up. Akira had never really gotten the chance to appreciate just how pretty the brunette actually was; his skin was fair and even, no marks or blemishes visible anywhere. His hair tickled the bridge of his nose where he lay on his side and his eyelashes rest softly against his cheeks.

Him suddenly shifting to get into a more comfortable position caused Ryuji to whine and shove his face more into the pillow before one eye began slowly opening. When their eyes met Ryuji smiled warmly and rolled over onto his back to stretch out and force himself into a more awake state.

“Mornin', Aki-chan. How ya feelin'?” he asked quietly. He let his left hand flop down onto Akira's leg and squeezed gently before bringing it up to press against Akira's forehead. “Hey. Looks ike your fever's gone down finally. 's good.”

“It wasn't a dream, was it?” he asked quietly, turning to look back at Akechi again. “What you asked me. About dating you both.” Ryuji's hand dropped down to settle atop one of Akira's but didn't squeeze, instead giving him the ability to pull away if he really wanted it.

“Yeah. Not sure how it'll work with three of us, but...I wanna give it a shot. I've known Go-chan for years 'nd I love him, but...somethin' about you made me fall just as hard. I know I haven't said it yet but I love you. I really do. I was just worried you wouldn't feel the same way about us. 'specially him,” he said and waved a hand off towards Akechi, who muttered something and pulled Akira's pillow tight to his chest to cuddle. “If you don't wanna it's fine. I understand.”

“I said it was the best fever dream ever, didn't I? I think that's answer enough,” Akira said and shifted to lay his head on Ryuji's shoulder. “Honestly I wanted to ask for you both, but I wasn't sure if either of you would be okay with it. I know these things aren't really all that...conventional, after all. And most people wouldn't be okay with this.” Ryuji's hand finally squeezed Akira's properly as he shoved himself even further into his boyfriend's side.

“Yeah, well, I think it's safe to say we've been through too much shit to really worry about bein' normal, don't you?” he said, and the chuckle that Akira let out warmed his heart as much as the lips suddenly pressed against his did. When they separated Akira let his forehead rest against the blond's and closed his eyes.

“Yeah. I think you're right about that,” he said. The covers shifted across their waist and prompted both of them to turn their heads to the side to see Akechi trying to cuddle the blankets as well, with one sleep-addled red eye glaring daggers at them.

“You two woke me up,” he mumbled while running his hand across his face. “I was having a nice dream. Can you two shut up and please lay back down? Your shoulder was comfortable.” Akira laughed and leaned forward to kiss Akechi, who seemed to melt into the contact before pushing the other back again. “Ugh. Morning breath.”

“Yeah, well, you don't taste like sweets yourself, you know,” Akira countered and ruffled Akechi's hair. He slowly rolled back onto his back, not even remotely surprised when Akechi immediately set his head back where it had been before, and let an arm wrap around Ryuji's waist to hold him close. Sure, Akira felt like he was sleeping next to two furnaces, and it would be a long time before he would actually be able to get some sleep because of it, but he would gladly trade anything and everything to be able to experience this for the rest of his life.

He only wished he wouldn't be forced to give it all up at the end of his probation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight look, y'all got y'all's fluff, now get ready for next week.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEED  
> THE  
> TAGS  
> This chapter, and even the next chapter, get _really, really_ heavy. I warned y'all to get ready for this.

Minato smoothed the front of the skirt down, then reached up to readjust the headband so it would sit right on his head. He then leaned forward to readjust the clips holding his thigh highs up before bending over further to slip his heels on. A slight breeze drifted across his ass and made him shiver before shooting up. Okay then. Bending over was definitely not something he would be doing if he could avoid it. Was the skirt too short...? Hell, he'd only really suggested wearing the stupid thing as a joke, but Souji had actually called him out on it when Akira sent a picture of him cuddling with Ryuji and Akechi both asleep on him, so he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

When he stepped out of the bathroom to see Souji lounging in a chair with a book in his hands he relaxed a bit. Maybe Souji wouldn't do anything _too_ crazy in response to the outfit he was wearing, but the moment he saw those silver eyes blow wide he knew he was in for it. The book thumped as he dropped it onto the table beside him and stood, taking slow steps towards Minato and raking his gaze along the pretty present before him. Obviously the skirt wasn't actually too short, if Souji's hand trailing along his thighs and up towards his ass were any indication. When Souji's fingers brushed across soft lace a silver eyebrow arched up in surprise.

“Panties, Minato?” he asked, and Minato felt a bit of color rise up into his face.

“Well I didn't think it would look right with anything else,” he muttered in answer and squirmed underneath the soft touch. Souji grabbed a handful of Minato's ass and squeezed, making him shudder and lean forward just a bit into Souji's chest.

“Before you start cleaning...there's something I want to do,” Souji said and pulled away. “Wait right here. Don't move.” Minato had a sneaking suspicion about what would he had in store for him and squirmed slightly in anticipation. When Souji returned he flipped the back of the skirt up and bent forward to show his ass. Thin fingers hooked into the back of the panties to pull them down to around his thighs before a cold finger nudged at his entrance. When it pushed inside he sighed softly and let his eyelids flutter before pushing back gently.

When the second finger pushed in he gasped and let out a quiet moan. Souji's free hand dipped down into the top of the thigh highs to brush against his skin and snap the garters hard enough to make him jump. After a few more forward pushes the fingers withdrew and the head of a plug began spreading him open. When it settled in completely he forced his knees steady and straightened back up again.

“Is that all you want...Master...?” he asked slowly. Souji nodded and patted his ass gently before going back to his seat and picking his book up. Minato grabbed the duster left on the table for him and began cleaning around the living room. The back of the maid outfit occasionally bounced up to show off his ass and the bulge of the plug against his panties.

“Oh, be careful with that vase when you got to clean it,” Souji said when Minato began to walk towards an intricate and expensive looking vase on his side table. Just as Minato picked it up Souji reached into his pocket and flicked a switch, causing Minato to moan loudly and clutch the vase tight to his chest. The plug began vibrating at the highest setting without warning and made his entire body shudder from the sensations. He very carefully sat the vase back down on the table and braced himself against the wood to keep from hitting his knees. When the vibrations died down to a much more tolerable level Minato straightened back up and continued to clean.

Souji was playing dirty with him, and he both hated and loved it. His cock pressed hard against the front of his panties and stained the black material with precum every time he moved. The slick sensation against the head only made it harder for him to keep going. Every time he did something Souji didn't like or appreciate he raised the setting just a little bit to keep Minato on his toes, lowering it a notch whenever Minato did something he liked.

As Minato stood in the kitchen washing dishes Souji crept up behind him very slowly, rubbing his hands together to warm them up before swatting Minato on the ass hard enough to make him jump and drop the plate in his hand on the floor, stepping back when the plate shattered and skittered across the floor. He swore and walked across the kitchen to grab the broom Souji kept tucked between the fridge and the counter next to it to sweep the shards up. Behind him Souji began tutting his disappointment at Minato, who scowled at him behind his hair.

“You broke a plate, you know.” When Minato set the broom back in its place and turned to Souji he watched Souji wave the remote slowly from side to side with a wicked smirk on his face. “I'm not really happy with that. I liked that plate.”

“I'm sorry, Master. What can I do to-hah!” This time his knees did buckle and dropped him to the floor as Souji turned the strength of the vibrator up, whining as the shift in position pressed the head of it right up against his prostate. His hand shot underneath the skirt of his maid outfit and wrapped around his cock but before he could begin to properly stroke himself Souji reached down to snatch it away.

“I didn't say you could touch yourself, Mina-chan,” he whispered. Minato whined and let his hips buck forward to try and ease some of the pressure, devolving into pathetic whimpers as it only made things worse for him. “Behave for me, and I might let you cum. Can you do that for me?”

“Pl-please Souji, I ca-”

“What did you say?” Souji reached around behind him and began twisting the plug around inside of him. Minato keened and shoved his face into Souji's shoulder to keep his voice down even as he climbed towards orgasm at a rapid pace.

“Master I can't...I can't take it, please let me cum, please,” he whimpered. Souji leaned in to suck a patch of skin just below his ear and smirked against his skin as Minato whined again. He moaned loudly in Souji's ear, voice rising in pitch the closer and closer he got to popping, until he let out one final pathetic whine as Souji turned the plug in the vibrator off and dropped the remote off to the side. When he pulled back to try and kiss Souji a hand grabbed his jaw to hold him tight and keep him from reaching his goal.

“I didn't say you could kiss me you know,” he purred softly. Minato tried to push forward to break through the contact but stopped as Souji gripped him tighter. “Mina-chan. Behave for me.” Minato began panting and shifting his hips to push the plug in and out of himself so he could finally fucking cum, but Souji set a hand on Minato's ass to keep him steady. “Be. Have.”

“Yes...Master...I'll be good,” he whispered and let his eyes slip closed. “Please let me cum, please, I just...just want to cum so bad...I'm sorry I broke the plate, I'll make it up to you I promise.” Souji chuckled and slowly let his hand trail down Minato's throat to dip into the front of the outfit and pinch one of his nipples roughly.

“And how are you going to make it up to me, hmm?” he whispered, feeling a sick sort of joy at hearing Minato let out another needy sound. Minato's eyes locked with Souji's and he flicked his tongue out to wet his lips before he spoke.

“I'll do whatever you want, Master...please just let me cum,” he breathed, pushing his chest forward into Souji's teasing touch. A nail scratched at the sensitive bud before twisting hard enough to make him keen. His arms looped around Souji's shoulder to pull him in closer, his hips jerking forward and rutting against Souji's thigh roughly. He let out a shaky moan that tapered off into a whine as the delicious pressure against his cock sent sharp spikes of pleasure up his spine.

“Go to the bedroom for me, Mina-chan. Be good and wait for me?” Minato nodded slowly and began forcing himself up to his feet on shaky, unsteady legs. His heels clicked against the hard floor before he began slowly walking off towards his bedroom.

They had never actually fucked in the bedroom, now that he thought about it. It had always been somewhere else, either on the couch or in the kitchen or even occasionally in hotel rooms, when they both happened to meet up somewhere else besides Inaba or any of his own homes. But now they were in his apartment in Tokyo, about to crawl into his bed for sex. Things had changed between them suddenly, and while he had an idea of where they could be going he couldn't say for certain with Souji's past.

He toed his heels off beside the bed and settled on his sheets with another quiet moan. The plug inside him shifted around again and pressed against his inner walls. He flipped the front of the skirt up to take himself in hand; his heels dug into the mattress and his back arched at the first contact of skin on skin. His other hand reached down between his legs to begin pulling the plug out of himself.

“Ah. I didn't say you could take that out, Mina-chan. Leave it in. And take your hand off yourself. You can't cum until I say you can,” Souji chided. Minato's nails scraped along his thigh as his hand dropped down to grip the sheets in a painfully tight grip. He wanted to behave for Souji. The more he behaved the sooner he would be allowed to cum. He pushed his hips forward in an attempt to coax Souji onto the bed faster and felt his lips curl when deep silver eyes dilated in desire. He sauntered calmly over to the bed and crawled up onto it, taking in the debauched sight beneath him as he dropped the bottle of lube in his hands onto the mattress.

One arm lay curled around his head and held the pillow behind him in a death grip. His skirt remained flipped up and left his cock exposed to the cold open air and Souji's critical gaze. The left stocking had come unclipped from the garter and had started to roll down his leg, stopping just above his knee in a cute little bunch. What little of his skin that Souji could see was flushed a deep red from both arousal and perhaps a touch of shame.

As he settled onto the bed his hands braced on either side of Minato's hips for a moment before raising his left one to instead place it beside Minato's head. The stones in his rings flashed in the lighting and gave him pause. A strange ache settled into his chest, taking his attention away from Minato long enough that it began to bother him. He followed the line of Souji's eyes and let out a very quiet breath.

“Souji.” Their eyes slid to meet as Minato slowly lifted Souji's left hand from the bed. Very carefully he brought the rings to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the jewelry. He kept Souji's hand pressed against his lips as he continued. “You said so yourself that you needed to stop using him as an excuse. And you know he would want you to be happy.” Souji grunted to himself, eyes darting off to the side to stare at the shoes beside the bed.

“I know, but it's hard. I've spent years holding myself back because of him, and now...” He felt Minato's lips curl up against his skin and leaned a bit more heavily onto his right hand to keep himself balanced as he tried to pry his left away. Minato, however, seemed to be having none of that, and instead laced their fingers tight together.

“I know it's hard. I'm not expecting you to do this on your own, either. I'll help push you, just a little bit at a time. You won't have to do this alone Remember that, Souji.” One of Souji's fingers began absently rubbing against soft warm lips; every time Minato kissed the digit it pulled Souji's lips up in turn. Soon enough he made an honest attempt at pulling his hand away simply to lean down and pull Minato in for a sweet kiss. The soft feeling of Souji's fingers brushing up his thighs and towards the plug made him shiver; when the toy was removed he shoved his face into the side of Souji's neck in an attempt at hiding his pathetic whimpers.

He kept himself pressed against Minato as he reached down to begin finally shimmying out of his clothes. Minato hooked a leg around his waist to haul him closer and fisted his hand into the back of Souji's hair to bring him in for a heated kiss. Their tongues slid together and sent liquid fire shooting down into their guts before Souji forced them apart for air.

“Look I know you really want to hurry this up but I need to get my pants off if we want to keep going so can you let me go please?” he chuckled. Minato huffed and pulled his arms away, pouting as Souji chuckled at him while pulling his clothes off. His eyes caught sight of a few thin strands of precum connecting the tip of his cock to the ruffles inside the skirt. If Souji were quite honest...Minato painted a very pretty picture right now. What he wouldn't give to have a picture of this for later uses.

“Souji please hurry up,” Minato begged and pulled him back in for another kiss. Souji kept them apart though as he reached over to grab the lube and slick himself up. He watched as Minato raised his hips and shuffled the underside of the skirt up underneath the small of his back to at least try and keep the maid outfit clean. Such a thoughtful person.

Taking a moment to press two lube-coated fingers inside to make sure Minato was still properly stretched and still wet enough to slide into gave him the opportunity to enjoy the sounds leaking out from beneath him. Soft whines, breathy moans, even quieter pleas to seriously hurry the hell up before he popped. A hand slid up underneath the skirt to raise Minato's hips just a bit before he began to push inside.

With their hips flush together he allowed his eyes to fall closed, head resting against the plushness of his favorite pillow. Souji had him spread so wide and stuffed so full; the pressure against his inner walls felt like heaven. Both legs wrapped loosely around curvy hips to keep him held close and give him leverage to rock up and try to set some sort of pace. He jumped in surprise when Souji's hands rested on his hips. Thumbs very gently ran across his jutting hip bones and made him sigh in quiet pleasure.

The first real thrust had his toes curling and his back arching up a little bit. Tonight seemed to be a slow night, as even with gentle prompting Souji seemed content to continue lazily rocking forward while sealing their lips together in a soft but passionate kiss. The pillow beneath his head was unceremoniously ripped out from underneath and pushed beneath his hips instead. A confused sound fell from his lips before the next thrust stole his breath away. The new position pushed him even further inside and let him hit a completely different spot inside.

“S-Souji!” he whined with a crack in his voice. He couldn't even feel embarrassment at just how needy he sounded from that when it felt like mush in his head. Every nerve felt on fire and lit a raging inferno in his gut. Eventually the small and incoherent sounds he made began to take the form of a near-continuous chant of Souji's name over and over again, as that was all his brain would let him say.

Minato coaxed them into another heated kiss by setting both hands on the side of Souji's face and tugging him closer. The moment their lips touched a fresh spark of electricity shot through them both bright enough to have Minato breaking apart to gasp and moan. The opportunity to mark as much of Minato's skin as Souji could manage presented itself, and who was he to let such a thing pass him by?

The dark bloom of the hickeys stood out nicely against Minato's pale skin. There was no discernible pattern to where they were left at first until it was decided that a necklace of them would look wonderful. Everything came to a stop as he leaned back to take in his handiwork and felt his heart jump up into his throat.

If Minato looked beautiful before, now he looked absolutely stunning. His bottom lip looked swollen and tender from being bitten so much in an attempt at keeping his voice under control. The skirt of the maid outfit still lay flat against Minato's stomach but now shone with still-wet precum. His legs were spread wide to let his legs wrap completely around Souji's waist, leaving everything on display for greedy silver eyes to take in.

“Take...take a picture, it'll last longer,” Minato breathed. Souji felt a smile crook up on the corner of his lips as he shifted his hips around, watching as he took his lip back between his teeth again at the feeling.

“Don't tempt me, I might just do that,” he said. He began moving again and Minato groaned as he reached down to take himself in hand and begin stroking himself. “Close already?”

“No but you're taking too fucking long and I want to hurry and c-ahhhh!” Souji had lurched forward to take a nipple into his mouth so he could suck on it, enjoying the way that Minato began squirming underneath him and falter in the rhythm of his arm. He pulled back with just the edge of his teeth and chuckled softly at the grunt he felt vibrate against his chest. “Did I say you could stop kissing me?”

“Didn't realize you wanted me to keep going,” Souji answered and leaned up to press their lips together again. The heat behind the kiss and Minato's insistent tugging seemed to be enough to encourage Souji to finally pick up the pace. The gentleness of before was gone now, replaced with a fervent need to bring things to an end. Minato keened in excitement and began meeting every single one of Souji's thrusts with rough enthusiasm.

The first brush against his prostate had his eyes rolling back and crossing a the same time somehow; the second one had him falling forward over the edge of orgasm with everything whiting out on him. He curled forward, grabbing a fistful of Souji's hair in his right hand and clawing up his sides with the left. He stained the both of their chests white, even managing to spatter a couple of drops across their chins. Just a few thrusts later and he was shoving his face into the side of Minato's neck and coming with a low groan. They continued to rock together slowly, riding out their high together in each other's arms and panting softly from exertion. A hand skimmed slowly through the front of Minato's hair to wring a a soft purr from him. He slowly raised his head to kiss the center of Souji's palm and smiled warmly.

“That was wonderful,” he murmured quietly. His right hand raised up to skim his fingers across the back of Souji's hand before pulling it down to kiss each of his knuckles individually. When he released the hand he gently pushed Souji off of him with barely a wince at the feeling of being left empty. A quiet hiss slipped from him as he rolled over to climb out of the bed and shuffle off towards the bathroom to get cleaned up. “I would offer you to join me but I'm afraid that mind end up with me bent over the side of the tub on my knees. So...maybe some other time.” He heard a snort from the bed as he slipped out of the room into the hallway.

Since he was the one to make a good chunk of the mess Souji decided to take it upon himself to strip the sheets and covers from the bed and put fresh ones on for the night. He scooped his phone up out of his pocket to check his messages and felt himself smile just a little bit.

_Goro  
Our trip seems to have gone awry. Instead of going to Los Angeles it seems that Kosei will be going to Hawaii. Convenient, as that's where Shujin has gone as well. I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures for you and perhaps even some of the three of us enjoying the sun. Fair warning, two of us are pale enough to blind._

_You obviously haven't seen Minato out on the beach. But I look forward to all of the pictures from you._

He chuckled softly at the small dig before setting his phone down onto the empty nightstand beside the bed before sliding underneath the sheets to wait for Minato to return. The fuzz of sleep just hung on the fringes of his brain when he heard the bedroom door open again. He expected to hear the sound of footsteps across the floor and let himself begin to drift off again, but when the room stayed silent for more than a few seconds he cracked open and sleep-blurred eye to check on Minato.

He stood in the doorway of the bedroom with an odd expression on his face, one that Souji couldn't ever really remember him making. The surroundings weren't in-focus enough to really see exactly what he looked like, but he could see enough to tell something was wrong. He ran a hand through his hair slowly and cleared his throat to ease some of the gruffness from it.

“Something wrong?” he asked sleepily, which seemed to make Minato jolt a bit in surprise. He reached over to absently pat the other side of the bed and let his eyes slip back closed again. The low light of the room cast soft shadows around the room and across Souji's form. “You should come to

_bed and sleep, love. You've been so busy lately, we haven't even had the chance to cuddle. I think I'm about to dry up from lack of affection.”_

“Are you alright...? You look like

_you've seen a ghost. Did something happen today while you were at work? Do you want to talk to me about it? I'm all ears, even if they are extremely small.”_

“Hey. Mina

_-chan? You look a little pale dear. Have you been eating? Have you been keeping Junpei company? ...Mina-chan? Mina_

to!” His legs gave out, pitching him forward and into Souji's chest, strong arms wrapping around him to keep him from dropping down to his knees. When the hell had he even gotten up from the bed? How long had he been out of it? Why had something as simple as Souji laying in his bed brought those memories up? It was stupid and painful and a part of him felt so guilty about this. Today was meant to be a pleasant day and his stupid, fucked up brain had ruined the whole thing.

His breath caught on a sob as he let himself go lax, barely even registering those arms around his chest sliding down to scoop him up bridal style and carry him off into the kitchen. Even the gentle silk of his pajamas felt scratchy and rough against his skin and made him squirm in Souji's arms uncomfortably. He moved to unbutton the top at the very least to shuck it off as soon as he could. The moment the cold air of his apartment hit him he shuddered and closed his eyes.

He could still hear that soft voice in his ears asking what was wrong, what had happened, please talk to me Minato _you've been quiet for so long since I asked. I know this is hard but I can't do this anymore. I trust you and love you and that's why I asked. I can't do this myself. And I'm doing it to protect you.”_

_“Asking me to murder you isn't protecting me Ryoji.” Minato pulled the clip keeping his bangs back out of his hair and dropped it onto the table with a bit more roughness than he honestly needed to use. His hand slid through the strands to keep himself calm and use the slight hint of pain to ground him. Ryoji reached up to fiddle with the frayed edge of his fall scarf, the soft orange a stark contrast to his pale skin. “Protecting me would be...giving me a damn alibi or helping me clean up or something. Not...not this.”_

_“I know you'll stop after this. You won't put yourself in danger anymore. And I know you won't let it hurt too much. I don't know what I'm doing, but you do, so-”_

_“How did you even figure it out?” Ryoji jerked back from the force in Minato's voice and stared down at the table in front of him._

“I forgot to clean my blade and Ryoji found it,” Minato whispered softly. At this point it was all he could muster, his voice having gone out from the violent breakdown he suffered. The honey in his tea helped ease a bit of the strain and allowed him to continue speaking in spite of the pain. “Normally that wouldn't be enough, but...he was always more perceptive than anyone gave him credit for. I wanted to deny it all but he wouldn't let me.”

“So he thought you murdering him would make you stop? How did he know you wouldn't keep going?” Souji asked. Minato stared down into his tea for a few moments in thought before continuing.

“Because we were each other's everything. Soul mate, trusted partner, love of our lives, everything. We felt the same on so many things, it almost seemed like we were the same person, or shared a part of our souls. He told me that he knew I would retire because he would do the same in my position. And he was right.” He wiped at his eyes and reached up to brush his hair off to the side absently. Crying had never been something he felt okay doing even before Ryoji, and even now a bit of that sentiment stuck fast. But...he always felt comfortable crying around Ryoji. And that same sense of trust and understanding filtered through him now.

“If you were the same then...you must have felt the same sense of finality as him. Didn't he think of that?” Souji said. Minato laughed, a dead and dry and hollow sound, and shifted around in his chair a bit. Perhaps he should have invested in some cushions for the kitchen chairs.

“He did.”

_“I know how similar we are...but I know there's one way we differ from each other,” Ryoji said as he pulled Minato in to his chest. The hand that settled into his hair once felt like a comfort, like a safe place; now it felt like a death sentence. “I know you can live without me. It won't be easy, but I know you can. You're so much stronger than I am.”_

_“I'm not stronger than you Ryoji. If I was I would be able to say no to you,” he whispered and squeezed his eyes shut tight enough to bring lights flashing forward and pain shooting through them. He clutched at Ryoji and felt the dam break, soaking the front of Ryoji's shirt with his tears. “Don't make me do this, please...I'm begging you, don't leave me...”_

_“I can't do that. I've tried, but it's too much. I've been fighting for years. I just hid it well enough from everyone around me. I tried so hard for you, but there just comes a point where you understand 'no more.'” Ryoji pressed a kiss to the top of Minato's hair and he let out a painful sob from deep in his chest. “I've reached that point myself. You did everything you could, and I'm so thankful that you stayed with me for so long. I'm so glad that I met you in high school. You were the best thing to ever happen in my life. I just wish we had more time together.” Very slowly he reached underneath Minato's chin to raise his head, and what could arguably be the most serene smile ever greeted Minato's teary gaze. “I love you with all of my heart Minato. I don't ever want you to forget that.”_

_Their lips met and Minato squeezed Ryoji close, almost like he hoped that maybe this would be enough to change his boyfriend's mind. He remembered their conversation about weddings, maybe even kids one day, and now he was trying to mentally prepare for the fact that he was about to murder the most important person in his life. Could he really go through with this? Would he be able to do it?_

_Of course he would. Because Ryoji asked him to, and he would hold back an apocalypse if he had been asked. Ryoji meant the world to him. When they separated Ryoji set his forehead gently against Minato's._

_“I meant it when I said I loved you. Never, ever, ever forget that.” His eyes shone with barely restrained tears as his thumb rubbed across Minato's cheek to wipe a stray drop away. “I meant it when I said you're stronger than me, too. I know you are. So please, carry on for me. I'm begging you.”_

_“I will, I promise, I love you so much Ryoji...”_

“So...what did you do afterwards?” Minato crossed his legs and carefully nestled his cup of tea in the crook. His thumb ran across a crack near the corner and felt his throat squeeze shut.

“...I slit his wrists in the bathtub,” he whispered. An oppressive weight that he had been carrying with him for years felt like it finally, finally might be lifting up from his shoulders. “I sat with him for twenty minutes trying to convince him to change his mind but nothing I said went through. When I did it my hands shook and I dropped the knife in the water. That was the only time I've ever messed up taking someone's life. But the cuts were deep, and he didn't live much longer. I held him and...and we kept saying h-how much we loved each o-other and th-that we we-were s-s-sorry and-” He curled forwards to shove the heels of his palms into his eyes and let out a quiet, pained, heartbreaking whine. “I should have st-stopped him, I should have s-said n-no and I sh-should h-have tried ha-harder!” He felt a hand move between his legs to pull his his forgotten tea cup out and set it on the table beside him before the hand began smoothing up and down his back slowly.

The tears he shed the night of Ryoji's death had been for a man forced to end a chapter of his life before he was ready with his own hand. The tears he shed now were for a man who felt the only course of action left for him was to bring his life to an end so he could finally feel peace.

A part of him felt angry with Ryoji. He wasn't stupid, he knew he had been guilt tripped into committing murder for someone else's gain. He wondered how Ryoji could have done that to him, put him in that position and then turn around half an hour later and say 'I love you' over and over again with such genuine emotion in his voice that it cracked even before it began to fade. He should have said 'fuck you' and walked off and called Ryoji out for his behavior.

But another part of him mourned for Ryoji and reminded him that he did everything he could, that Ryoji admitted he had done everything and that it wasn't his fault at all. The pain and strain had piled up over the years and Minato had simply been his saving grace, his guardian angel stepping in to give him the peace he deserved. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all.

It took three more hours before Minato felt calm enough to begin a new conversation, downing two more cups of tea and eating a light dinner as his thoughts began to untangle themselves. The reprieve had been needed, since he hadn't let himself mourn or grieve properly before now.

“...Was he happy...?” Souji asked carefully. Minato nodded and squeezed his knees tight to his chest with a still-shaky breath. His skin still looked flushed from the strain of crying for so long and his eyes still glimmered with the barest hints of moisture.

“The last words he said to me before he fell unconscious were 'Thank you.' I did what I could to help him. I'm sure that wherever he is he finally feels like he's okay.” He stared down at the tea swirling around the cup in his hand before bringing the cup to his lips and taking a small sip of the warm liquid. “You know. I never actually let myself cry for Ryoji's death, all those years ago. When I cried that night I was selfish. I broke down for myself because I was forced to end a wonderfully happy chapter of my life before I wanted to. But tonight...I actually cried for him being gone.”

“What finally made this happen?” Souji prompted. “You were a little out of it when you came back from getting cleaned up.” Minato's eyes glossed over for a moment before sighing and leaning against the back of the chair he sat in.

“I've never actually had anyone sleep in bed with me since Ryoji's death. Even all the times we fucked in hotels, I always made you leave afterwards. Seeing you laying in bed and asking me if I was okay brought memories of him back. Sort of had flashbacks to shortly after Chidori died and...shortly before I murdered him. Please don't apologize either,” Minato said quickly when Souji looked like he was preparing to offer some sort of apology. “It wasn't your fault. I didn't know that would happen. Everything's still no new and weird with me. I'm..I admit I'm likely to be extremely unstable for a little while now. Would...would you be willing to stay with me for a little bit? So I won't be alone.”

“Of course, Minato. I'll grab some blankets for the couch and-”

“No. I want you to sleep in bed with me,” Minato cut in quickly. His nails clinked against the cup as he drummed them repeatedly against the porcelain, eyes filled with nervousness and fear. He knew better than to believe he would be truly okay by himself that night, and only hoped that maybe Souji would be enough to help him through the coming...however long it would take for him to finally balance out.

“If you're certain, Minato. Just let me know if it's too much for you at any point,” he agreed, and Minato nodded curtly before taking a few sips of his tea. He would hate to leave it and not finish it, but the past few hours had begun to take their toll on him and drowsiness was beginning to set in. It seemed Souji noticed as he calmly walked over to remove the cup from Minato's hand and took it to the kitchen to rinse out. Accepting that their conversation was over and that now they needed to get settled in for the evening Minato began shuffling towards his bedroom with every intention of crawling directly underneath his sheets and letting himself fall into a much needed and peaceful rest.

He'd just made it in and had gotten comfortable with he felt Souji slide into bed with him and very gingerly wrap his arms around Minato's waist to hold him close. The feeling of bare skin as he clung to the edge of sleep wasn't something he had felt in so long that it almost felt like too much to him. Almost. The familiar and strangely comforting scent of Souji helped keep the worst thoughts away from him.

Minato's phone vibrated just as he had fallen asleep and Souji was close behind him. His hand absently reached over to grab it off the bedside table and unlocked the screen without thinking and with barely open eyes. The picture he received brought a warm smile to his face.

Akechi stood between Akira and Ryuji, obviously the one holding the phone up as Souji could see just a little bit of his outstretched and bare arm in the bottom of the frame. One of Ryuji's cheeks was crushed flat against one of Akechi's with the brightest smile he had probably ever seen in his life gracing the blond's face. Akira stood on Akechi's other side with a warm smile that seemed a far cry from the person he had been just a few short weeks ago. A few moments later a string of text messages came through.

_We're having so much fun here in Hawaii! Ryuyu insisted on taking the picture and I figured you would want an update to how I'm doing. Things have been a lot better since the three of us talked and sorted everything out. I wish I'd said something sooner though. Save us all some trouble._  
_Ryuyu's been doing a lot better too. He practically threw himself at Akechi when he saw him. It was cute and made me smile so much. I thought things would be awkward with them being so affectionate near me but knowing they feel the same about me only makes things feel even better._  
_Akechi's opened up so much since we all started dating too. It's still weird to say that we're all actually dating you know? I thought those were only fantasies people had. It's been a bit of a struggle with him but it's slowly but surely getting better. We're all happy together and we all love each other._  
_I wanted to thank you and Seta for trying to talk some sense into me before I let things get too far. And I want to apologize for actually letting things get that far. I should have been more mature, but you know me. I have the emotional understanding of a rock when it comes to these things, even if it's the way I feel about something. Maybe having two people to rely on and speak with and read emotions from will help me out._  
_This is the happiest I've been in so long, and I know I have to give it all up when my probation is over. I don't want to go back to my parents but I don't want to ask Boss to let me stick around. I know my parents won't let me move in with you and I'm scared that when I leave Akechi and Ryuyu will forget me and move on without me. I don't know what to do._  
_Oh shit I just realized it's like, ten over there in Japan or something isn't it? You're probably trying to sleep and I'm probably keeping you up. Sorry Senpai. Spur of the moment texting, you know? Not used to being this happy and excited about something. Talk to you tomorrow then!_

Souji chuckled softly to himself and carefully set Minato's phone back down again before wrapping his arms back around his waist. There was a subtle shift against his side and then everything went still and quiet and peaceful. It wasn't long at all before Souji drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look. I just want anyone who's reading this and struggling to feel okay to know that you can come to my Twitter and talk to me if you need to. @LilPudPud if you feel awful and horrible and don't know who to talk to or how to talk to someone like this then just message. My inbox is open, my IM's are open, I've been through this. I know how desperate and deep this crevice is, and I had to claw my way out with help. _I am here to help._ I would put my GF's Tumblr but IDK if she would be okay with that.  
>  Please. Reach out. Talk to someone.  
> Edit: I updated this since my Tumblr's about to be purged with my Twitter, so you guys can keep in touch if you want/need to. Please don't hesitate to message me if you feel down or upset.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We broke 200K words. Holy shit I was *joking* when I said this wouldn't likely be done until 300K. What the *fuck* is this *bullshittery.* I feel like it's way too long and I hate it because of all the side chapters, but like...the 'side chapters' add so much to the story TBH that I'd feel bad not putting them in together... >.>  
> Anyway, this chapter feels kind of lackluster, and it's almost 10K which is worse, but IDK what else to do to fix this one. Not as feelsy as I thought it would be either. Had completely different plans for this chapter, but...yeah.  
> Edit: So I decided to take this week off as well, what with it being Thanksgiving week and all that. Promise I'll be back to my regularly scheduled heartbreak next week~!

Akira let his fingers brush against Akechi's as they walked towards his room, a crooked and teasing grin plastered across his lips. The slight blush that dusted across Akechi's cheeks warmed his heart and made him dead set on teasing the detective even more.

“I still can't believe you guys are rich enough that you get your own rooms,” Akira hummed as he let a pinky finer wrap around one of Akechi's, who returned the question with a soft snort and turned to look from the corner of his eye.

“I don't. I'm sharing a room with Kitagawa,” he answered as he fished a keycard from his pocket to unlock his hotel door and let them both inside. “However, Kitagawa mentioned spending the evening with Mishima, so I don't believe we'll be seeing him anytime soon.” Akira barked a laugh as he stepped into the room and kicked his shoes off into a corner.

“Well I guess it's a good thing Yuuki ended up as an odd-man out and got a room to himself,” he said, and Akechi let out a quiet snort.

“Oh. How amusing,” he muttered while tossing his shirt off into a semi-neat pile of obviously dirty clothes beside a suitcase. He flipped the lid of it open and pulled out a set of silk pajamas to change into as he spoke. “Where's Ryuyu?”

“He's rooming with me, but he's probably asleep in our room. Not sure what he'll be up to tonight,” Akira answered and dropped his glasses with his beach bag onto the bedside table before hopping up onto the comfortable mattress and groaning. “Oh, this is so comfy~ My back feels great now. Goodnight.”

“Oh no you don't, mister. You don't get to go to sleep on me so suddenly. You came here for a purpose, and I intend to get an answer out of you about what the hell it is,” Akechi snapped as he crawled up into bed with Akira. His legs settled perfectly between Akira's with his back against the headboard. After a long while of thought his boyfriend smirked at him with a devilish look.

“Get us some room service. I've got a surprise for us,” Akira hummed and tapped his foot against the side of Akechi's leg. “And don't get cheap shit either. I want something we can split. I know you've got money for it.” Akechi flopped back against the overly plush pillows of his bed and chuckled.

“And what makes you think I brought any of that money with me?” he asked. The look Akira shot him nearly made him break down and snort awkwardly; thankfully he choked it down and disguised it behind him clearing his throat. “Alright, alright. Fine. I'll order room service, if they have it here-”

“This hotel is disgustingly expensive, of course they have room service.”

“-and get something that is hopefully to your taste,” Akechi finished with a huff. He smirked and leaned forward to softly press his lips against Akira's softly. He found himself quickly pushed down onto his back and pinned at the hips with deceptively soft hands cupping the sides of his face. As loathe as he was to do it he carefully pushed Akira away and chuckled.

“As much as I'm enjoying this I'm a little more curious to find out what surprise you have in store for us, so if you would be oh so kind as to get your paws off of me so I can get us the room service you requested I would greatly appreciate it,” he purred. With a defeated sigh Akira pulled back and sat down across from Akechi at the foot of the bed.

Thirty minutes later and Akira watched with amusement as Akechi spread out a few plates of seafood across the bed and shook his head in some form of disappointment, he assumed.

“This is going to be so expensive. You're lucky I'm loaded Akira,” he said,and his lips curled just a little bit. It sounded so...weird, still, to refer to him as Akira and not Kurusu. That they were dating and close enough to not refer to each other by their family names. That he was close enough with anyone but Ryuji and Sae to have that privilege.

“I know Goro. I'll make it up to you once we're back home. Promise,” Akira said as he gestured towards his bag on the nightstand. “Can you hand me that? And be careful, I don't want anything breaking.” Akechi hoped he conveyed a concerned enough look as he did what he had been asked to, eyebrows shooting up into his hairline when Akira fished out a bottle that he himself was all too familiar with.

“Akira that's alcohol! How the hell did you manage to get a bottle of wine!?” he hissed, trying and failing to snatch it out from the other's hands and instead almost pitching forward into his food. Akira's reply was to laugh and reach further into his bag to produce two glasses wrapped up in a beach towel.

“There was a drunk couple at the beach who just walked off and left it and the glasses. I watched the spot for like, half an hour before I walked over to snatch them up. Drunk tourists, am I right?” he chuckled and slid off the bed with feline grace. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to find a corkscrew. Place like this, there's gotta be one right?”

“Akira I am not drinking with you. I will share my food with you but I will not risk getting into monumental amounts of trouble by having alcohol in my room. In case you forgot I'm only eighteen, and you're sixteen dammit and this is extremely stupid,” Akechi hissed. Akira stopped in his search for the corkscrew and threw on his best smile.

“Come on. We kill people. What's a little bit of underage drinking?” he asked and continued on his search. Something about the pause and the obvious strain in that smile made worry settle into the pit of Akechi's gut, but...

“We won't get caught for the murders here in Hawaii. We can and very likely will get caught for the bottle of wine in our room, and I don't want to risk Kitagawa getting into trouble as well!” This time when he reached for the bottle he felt his fingers brush agains the cold glass before his target was snatched away from him again.

“Hey. No. Stop it, seriously. Go down to the front desk and see if they have a corkscrew for us to use, if they ask I accidentally took a rubber stopper from some medicine and shoved it in my drink or something, I don't know,” Akira huffed. Akechi scoffed and brushed his hair away from his face.

“They won't be stupid enough to fall for that, I hope you know this.”

“They _will_ be stupid enough to fall for it because this is a disgustingly expensive hotel, as I've pointed out before, and you're very obviously a part of a group from a prestigious school willing to shell out the money to afford your accommodations. I would almost be willing to bet they'd turn a blind eye and just give you your own bottle of wine if you asked because of that.” After a moment's pause he tentatively added, “Don't try that though. Just ask for a corkscrew and if they want to know why you need it just bullshit a story. Odds are they probably won't even ask.”

“They'll ask and we'll get caught and I'm throwing every bit of blame on you.”

 

“Oh my god they didn't even ask why I needed it.”

“I told you they wouldn't! Americans don't really think about things like that most of the time. I think. Probably. Just give it to me so I can finally get this damn bottle open,” Akira laughed and reached out to take the item from Akechi's hand. The brunette was still stunned enough to not even react, only blinking slightly in surprise when he heard the telltale sound of a cork popping out and Akira's triumphant “Tada!”

“I still insist this is stupid. How are you going to get back to your hotel before morning without getting caught? The front desk will notice you slipping by,” Akechi asked. This was an actually important question; maybe whoever was out front of his own hotel would keep quiet about a random kid coming downstairs at the asscrack of dawn, but there was no guarantee the attendant of the hotel Akira was staying at wouldn't say anything. This would lead to questions about where he was so early in the morning and risk either running them straight to Akechi or Akira ending up in even more trouble than he already would be for whatever half-baked lie he would feed his chaperones.

“Don't worry, Makoto's covering for me. I'll text her when I'm ready to come back and she'll get the person out front to run up to her room and keep 'em distracted while I slip in. No way in hell I'm getting caught,” Akira explained as he began pouring out their drinks. The stench of alcohol drifted up into the room from the open bottle and the glasses, and the scent seemed pleasant enough for them. Akechi found himself presented with a glass of wine and a coy smile on his boyfriend's face.

“Here you go. I don't want to be the only one drinking, and you went through so much effort to help me get the bottle open,” he cooed. Akechi hesitated for a few seconds before gingerly taking the glass and preparing to take a drink from it. Akira's hand settling onto the top of it and pushing it down stopped him however.

“What?”

“Not yet. Back up on the bed,” he argued and took his place back at the foot of the bed. Akechi made some sort of confused and amused sound as he did what was asked of him. As he settled into place he watched Akira pull up some sort of video on his phone, then propped it up beside their food. The video showed a flickering candle in an ornate candle holder with soft, romantic music playing quietly to accompany it. Finally the plan Akira had hatched dawned on Akechi, and before he could stop himself he began to laugh at the absurdity of it.

“A romantic candlelit dinner, Akira? Really?” he asked, and the knowing smirk playing across his boyfriend's lips gave him the answer he needed. “You're such a sap.”

“I may be a sap but I'm your sap,” he pointed out and held his glass out a bit. “To celebrate...everything, honestly. Kamoshida's murder, Seta getting a bit of the peace he needed, our relationship blooming to include Ryuji...Madarame's murder.”

“I still can't believe you did that,” Akechi sighed. Regardless he gently touched his glass against Akira's before pulling it back to take a drink of it. The face he made showed that he was pleasantly surprised at the taste. “Oh. This is good.”

“It is. Wow. So much better than the crap my mom drinks,” Akira said as he took another sip as well. He set his glass down between his legs carefully and grabbed a piece of food from the plate in front of him. Instead of popping it into his mouth however he reached forward to offer the piece to Goro, who smiled warmly before leaning forward and pulling the tip of Akira's finger into his mouth along with the food and licking the digit sensually before he pulled away and began to chew.

“You know...I never saw you as the romantic type, honestly,” he admitted slowly. Akira fed him another piece with an equally affectionate smile on his lips that matched the other's perfectly. “You seemed to be the type to think yourself confident and charming enough to avoid needing to flirt. And yet here you are, with a bottle of wine between us to share, a phone playing romantic music and providing romantic lighting, while splitting expensive yet delicious room service with me on my bed, alone in my hotel room. You never act like this with Ryuyu.”

“I do. But not around you,” Akira countered. “I do love you both. But I like to show it in my own weird little ways. And if that means getting you tipsy enough that we end up making out for three hours before falling asleep with your head against my chest then, well, I think that's special enough don't you?” Akechi snorted, a cute little sound that had Akira's heart beating hard against his chest, and decided to return the favor by plucking a shrimp from his plate and holding it out for Akira to take.

“Why just making out? Why not sex? Isn't that romantic?” he asked as he took a sip to keep his voice from breaking. He suddenly found himself a tightly wound bundle of nerves and absolutely could not place why. Alcohol like wine was meant to relax you right? So why did it feel like his heart was picking up speed faster than a roller coaster?

“In its own way. But we fuck a lot. We hardly ever just make out for the sake of doing it,” Akira said. “We also never actually make love because every time I try to take things slow you bitch at me to hurry up before you snap my neck.” Akechi choked (on air, nonetheless) and quickly tried to hide behind his blanket of hair. He failed miserably; the strands were soft but thin.

“Sh-shut up, Akira. I just...don't like being teased is all,” he argued, listening to himself spout a surprisingly rehearsed amount of bullshit in those few simple words and regretting ever speaking. He didn't need to look up to know Akira was giving him a piercing glare.

“You don't like being teased and yet you've told me time and time again that you actually really love it when I don't let you get off immediately and keep edging you-”

“I said shut up!” Akechi laughed and launched forward to try and swat at Akira's shoulder. Thankfully he had enough of a mind to grip his glass carefully and Akira used his free arm to block the playful hit even as he laughed softly enough that it sent shudders up Akechi's spine. They leaned into each other to share a kiss and both of them silently decided that the wine tasted so much better on the other's lips.

“But you're not denying it either,” Akira teased, obviously not understanding just how close he was to hitting something in Akechi that he would rather not rear its ugly head. Instead of trying to provide an answer he hid behind his glass and quietly began to feed his lover again. There was a moment of hesitation before Akira leaned forward to accept the offering. Something glinted behind his fake glasses (god, why was he still wearing those honestly?) and made Akechi squirm where he sat. This time when he went to drink from his glass he found it empty and blinked in surprise. Had he really already had that much?

“Akira...”

“Here, let me refill that for you,” Akira offered before he could say anything else and slid off the bed to grab the bottle of wine and pour another glass. Honstly he probably shouldn't drink any more, because he was already beginning to feel just a little bit lightheaded, but the glass was already there and his boyfriend had gone through the trouble of pouring him more...

“Thank you,” he muttered as he took a smaller sip than before and shoved more food at the other. The video ended and began playing some godawful and painfully loud advert for some product that neither one of them were interested in, breaking the mood and causing the both of them to begin giggling softly as Akira waited for it to end.

“Sorry about that, I thought it would last longer,” he admitted sheepishly while hunting around for another video to pull up. After scrolling a few times he clicked on one and set his phone back down again. “There. This one's an hour long video.”

“Good. I don't want our dinner getting interrupted again. Thought I feel I should ask, why are you doing this?” Akechi asked. Akira smiled at him and took another sip of his glass. A light flush had already begun spreading across his cheeks and nose. Akechi noticed his glass was almost empty, in fact, and slid off the bed to fetch the bottle. Akira seemed to notice and finished off the last few dregs of alcohol before holding the glass out.

“I simply wanted to. Can't a man plan a romantic dinner for him and his boyfriend?” Akira asked. Akechi snorted and set the bottle on the table beside the bed to easily reach before climbing back up into his spot again.

“I mean you can. But there's always some sort of ulterior motive to it. Like having done something wrong and wishing to apologize, or simply wanting to guarantee the possibility of sex for the night. If you wanted us to fuck you could have just asked, and I don't believe you've done anything wrong, so why are you doing this?” Akira hesitated for a moment before going to feed another piece of fish to Akechi. When he didn't immediately pull it into his mouth and instead affixed a death glare to Akira he wilted a bit and laughed awkwardly.

“Hey, c'mon. We're in Hawaii, which is apparently some really romantic place to be with someone you love, we're alone in a hotel room, I happened to find a bottle of wine...I just wanted to be romantic. Is that a bad thing?” he asked. Akechi narrowed his eyes and decided that now it was his turn to stop Akira from trying to continue things without getting an answer.

“Akira. I'm not as stupid as you make me out to be. Something is wrong, and I would like to know what it is. You're doing this for a reason. Did someone else figure us out? Did you do something wrong? Did you hurt Ryuyu?” Akira dropped his food down onto the plate and took a larger than necessary sip of wine from his glass, eyes to the side and refusing to make contact with Akechi's.

“I just...don't want you guys to forget me,” he whispered quietly, catching Akechi by surprise and causing him to lean backwards with wide eyes.

“What? Why would we do that?” Akira's thumb began slowly running up and down the stem of the glass as he pulled his legs up closer to his chest. He took another long sip and set his glass down on the plate in front of him.

“My probation's up next year. I have to go back home then. And I know my parents, they probably won't let me see you guys. Well...you, maybe, but not Ryuyu. And I don't want you guys to forget me and decide I'm not worth waiting to come back. I thought that...that if I did enough romantic stuff you two would put up with the wait and I'd be fine,” he admitted. He hiccuped, and only now did he realize he had been crying. “I don't want to lose you...I don't want you to pretend I don't exist like my parents...” He shoved his face into his knees and continued to cry, hiccuping over and over again and muttering quiet apologies and promises to do better over and over again.

Why the hell was he acting like this? He'd gotten drunk on wine before and been perfectly fine. He shouldn't be crying like this, it was...it was stupid and childish. They'd both practically double-teamed him to ask him out (never mind that he was delirious with a fever at the time) and had been nothing but ecstatic to see him every time. Why would he think they wouldn't wait for him?

Maybe it was leftover resentment from his parents about ditching him without a second thought and only calling once to tell him he would be coming home with the most disappointed tone they could muster, and being afraid that his boyfriends would do the same with him somehow. He loved them both and wanted to stay with them but his insecurities meant that he didn't think he would be able to.

Warm arms around his shoulders brought him back out of it and told him that Akechi currently had him in a tight bear hug that he honestly desperately needed. The food and glasses had been pushed off onto the bedside table and soon Akira found himself with his head in Akechi's lap, tears pouring down his face still and his entire body shaking from the strength of his sobs. A hand steadily ran through his curls, pausing to gently scratch at the nape of his neck in the hopes that it would help calm him down. Eventually it seemed to do its job, as Akira found himself no longer crying and only shuddering from the strain of trying to catch his breath.

“Akira.” Akechi's voice sounded far off but encouraging and soft, affectionate and everything Akira needed right now. He felt soft lips press against his temple and let out a shaky sigh while leaning into the touch. One of his hands moved slowly up to grasp Akechi's wrist and hold it tightly with his eyes squeezed shut. “You don't have to talk. I just want you to listen right now. Alright?” Akira slowly nodded as he pushed himself backwards more into the warmth radiating off of his boyfriend.

“I don't know where these thoughts are coming from. But I want you to know that will never happen,” Akechi began, fingers gently scratching at Akira's scalp and pulling a soft sigh in response. “We both love you very much. You know this. We don't want to lose you. You mean too much to us. I understand that you're scared we won't wait for you, but this is a promise that we will. You're our boyfriend, and I know you're going back to your home at the end of your probation, but we will wait for you to come back to us for as long as we need to. We'll keep in touch, even if it's only through phone calls and texts. You won't be forgotten, and there will be a place with us waiting for you to come home.” Akira opened his mouth to finally say something when a knock from the door cut him off. His face scrunched up in an absolutely adorable expression as Akechi very carefully slid out from underneath his head and made his way over to open the door.

Akira barely had time to register that Ryuji was standing in the doorway before he felt himself hauled up and into another death hug with sloppy wet kisses pressing everywhere across his face before landing repeatedly on his lips.

“Aki-chan, you okay? Go-chan texted 'nd said you weren't doin' okay. You wanna talk about it?” he asked, and Akira shook his head before pulling Ryuji back against him. He motioned for Akechi to join them both and found himself squished between the two in a wonderfully tight hug. The strain and fear seemed to fall away from him and left him a tired, pliable puddle of goop to be flopped around however the others seemed fit to decide.

Just as he felt himself beginning to doze off he realized he had somehow been shoved underneath the covers and tucked in carefully. With a jaw-cracking yawn and a quickly muttered “Good night” he let himself drift off to sleep.

Ryuji and Akechi sat together on the other bed, curled together and occasionally pressing soft kisses to the other's lips. Their hands were clasped together in front of them and their legs were twined together. Coupled with the soft sounds of Akira snoring from beside them the gentle atmosphere of the room around them set the hair standing up on their necks.

“So what was Aki-chan cryin' about?” Ryuji finally asked, voice low to avoid waking the other occupant of the room up. Akechi gently set a hand on Ryuji's side to cradle him as he pressed a kiss just above Ryuji's right eyebrow.

“He was scared we would forget him once he left for his home after his probation,” Akechi explained just as quietly. His other hand began slowly running up and down Ryuji's leg over the scar he know marred the skin from Kamoshida shattering it and the subsequent surgery to set it back into place. Ryuji scowled and straightened up slightly before turning to look at Akira.

“Man, why would he think that? He knows we love him, right? Why would he think we would do that?” he asked. Akechi shrugged gently and nudged his nose into the side of Ryuji's head gently. “I bet it's got somethin' to do with his parents.”

“It does. He said that he didn't want us to pretend he doesn't exist like his parents,” he answered, and the way Ryuji's shoulders slumped suddenly broke his heart just as much as Akira's half-drunk plea. “His parents seem like awful people. They've hurt him so much, it's...upsetting to see.”

“I don't want him to go back,” Ryuji said. His fingers laced gently with Akechi's to squeeze as his teeth worked his bottom lip anxiously. “I want him to stay here, he seemed so miserable when his mom called 'nd now this...is there anythin' we can do to stop it?” Akechi's head shook from side to side even as he squeezed Ryuji tight to him.

“Nothing. He was sent here because his parents didn't want to deal with him, and once he goes home I feel like they'll simply continue to ignore him. But all we can do is provide him the support he needs and help him through the coming year with his parents. I pray it will be enough.” He sighed and carefully unwound himself from Ryuji's hold to take the bottle of wine and the glasses to the bathroom. Only now did Ryuji notice the alcohol, and immediately he grew concerned.

“Hey, were you 'dn Aki-chan drinkin' that stuff?” he asked. He followed after Akechi into the bathroom with an extremely upset look on his face.

“We were. Akira decided that having a romantic dinner for the two of us would help me not forget him,” he answered as he poured the glasses out. The alcohol stained the porcelain crimson as before he began running the water to flush the color away properly. “That's why there's food in the room too. I'm sorry, I know you don't like alcohol, and I know I shouldn't have-”

“Hey. Don't apologize dude. Seriously. I wasn't here, so you shouldn't...uhhh...not do things because I'm gone. Wish I could say it a better way, but that's just what came to me. I don't want you two holdin' yourselves back just 'cause of me. Wouldn't be fair to you,” Ryuji argued. Akechi scoffed and turned to properly look at Ryuji with the bottle still clutched in his hands.

“It also isn't fair for us to do things that we know would upset you. Why would we disrespect you like that?” he asked. As he eyed the bottle in his hands to try and come up with some sort of plan to get rid of it and avoid getting caught, something in Ryuji's eyes seemed to shine with understanding.

“...Go-chan, are you...are you 'nd Aki-chan not doin' things just...'cause of me? Even when I ain't there?” he asked quietly, and Akechi stared at him like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well of course. We don't want to do anything that might trigger you or upset you, Ryuyu. That would be extremely inconsiderate of us to ignore that, you know,” he said before hefting the bottle in his hands a few times. “Maybe I could throw this out the window and nobody would know...or perhaps I could throw it out in one of the trash cans out front...”

“Go-chan, I...” Akechi shrugged to himself and calmly pushed out of the bathroom past Ryuji and out of the hotel room to find a place where he could throw the wine bottle away. Ryuji was left standing there in the bathroom watching him and trying to decide what he would do now.

He didn't think it was fair that Akechi and Akira were obviously curtailing their relationship because of him. He felt certain that Akechi knew exactly what Ryuji meant by his question, but he wanted a concrete answer before he completely followed through with the idea he had. No matter how stupid it turned out to be later on.

When Akechi came back with empty hands he found Ryuji sitting at the edge of the bed again, this time twiddling his thumbs in an obvious display of nervousness and staring holes into the sheets beneath him. It took him a moment to realize Akechi had come back, but the moment he did his face flushed bright, bright red.

“H-hey. Uhhh...when I asked that question earlier, you...you knew what I meant by that, right?” he asked. Akechi hesitated for a moment before moving over to take a seat beside Ryuji.

“If you're asking whether or not we've put our sex life on hold because of you, I will admit that the possibility of you accidentally walking in on us and seeing it has made us a bit hesitant to get intimate with each other. After you told us about your flashback your first few nights with Mishima we decided that it would be better to not risk being the cause of another one simply because we were careless. And before you try to argue that it isn't fair for us, I want you to know that it doesn't bother us or upset us. Your needs are just as important as ours, and your trauma is something we need to be considerate of,” he pointed out. Ryuji huffed and began picking at a loose piece of skin at the edge of one of his nails.

“'m not a doll, you know. You don't have to treat me like I'll break,” he argued back. Akechi grabbed his hand to squeeze it tightly before bringing it up to press a gentle kiss to the back of it.

“We aren't treating you like a doll, Ryuji. We're treating you like a person who has gone through horrible events and needs time to adjust. Even the toughest of materials can crack and break with enough abuse,” he said. When Ryuji still seemed to be upset by the answer he leaned over to press a kiss to the cheek nearest him. Still Ryuji looked upset, which in turn upset Akechi since he had no clue how to make this better.

“I don't wanna be a burden to you guys,” he said quietly. Akechi was quick to open his mouth and try to argue but Ryuji calmly set his hand over his boyfriend's mouth. “And it ain't got nothin' to do with what Kamoshida said. I wasn't a burden the way he made me think I was. It's okay to rely on other people sometimes, especially when you need it. Ya know, like when your leg's messin' up 'dn your havin' trouble walkin' on it. But now I really do feel like I am one. Because you 'nd Aki-chan keep havin' to walk on eggshells around me after what I went through. 'nd I feel awful because of it. I don't want that for us. I know you're gonna argue 'nd say I'm not a burden but it's what I feel like. 'nd...I think I know how to do that. But I'm gonna need you to trust me.”

“I'll trust you. Just tell me what you need me to do,” Akechi whispered. Every muscle in his body tensed as Ryuji slid up onto his lap and arms looped around his neck carefully. “Ryuyu-”

“Don't move. Just...let me do this. I know you won't hurt me 'nd I trust you, I just...gotta get the rest of me to understand, is all. 'nd I think doin' this might do the trick.” Akechi pointedly kept his hands on the bed behind him to keep himself balanced and avoid touching Ryuji at all. His heart beat loudly against his chest, painful and terrified at the possibility of messing something up and hurting Ryuji. The tension in his muscles reached painful levels almost immediately but they were pointedly ignored in lieu of keeping himself from touching.

“Ryuyu I don't...I don't think this is a good idea. I don't think you should be doing this, Kamoshida's only been gone for a few months, you-” Ryuji found the strength to scowl at Akechi in a way that cut off any protests before he could voice. Very, very carefully, Ryuji set his hands on either side of Akechi's face, thumbs carefully tracing along his cheekbones.

“Go-chan. I know you're trynna protect me, but you don't get to decide what's best for me. You aren't me. I need to make these decisions for myself, and I need to figure out what I can handle myself. I'm gonna push myself too hard sometimes, and I don't need you 'dn Akira keepin' me back. I need you two there to help pick me back up. Okay? My therapist told me it's gonna be hell trynna put all that fucked up shit behind me, but I gotta start somewhere. 'nd I don't want that bastard ruining the best thing to happen to me in my life. I don't want that stupid fuckin' shadow of his hangin' over me and keepin' me from really enjoyin' this.”

Akechi's hands shook as he reached up to set them on Ryuji's hips, a gentle reassuring pressure that he hoped would help to ease some of Ryuji's anxieties about continuing. His heart pounded against his ribs in fear even as he forced himself to smile. One little misstep, one wrong move and Ryuji could end up breaking down and it would be entirely his fault.

Just as their lips were about to brush Akira sneezed from the bed across the room, reaching up to rub his nose and slowly sitting up while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Ryuji's head whipped to the side before his brain registered who was there, and reminded him that he was safe, and allowed him to relax back down properly into Akechi's lap. Their eyes met and immediately Akira's face shifted to one of confusion.

“Ryuyu...?” he asked, voice heavy with sleep. Akechi swore he could see the little loading bar scrolling across above Akira's head, and once it finished his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh. Do you guys want me to leave? I can go ahead and go back to our room if you want.”

“Can you...stick around? Like just, go into the bathroom or somethin'? In case I need you both? Please?” Slowly Akira pulled hmself out from underneath the covers and padded over to the bed; one of his hands settled onto the side of Ryuji's cheek with such gentle affection that the blond melted into it with a pleased sigh. He leaned forward to kiss Ryuji, humming quietly to himself when Ryuji's hand settled into his hair softly. They broke apart with a quiet pop and matching shy smiles.

“Of course babe. Take things slow, 'kay? Don't push yourself too hard,” he said as he pulled away to slip off to the bathroom. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Akechi and Ryuji alone sitting on the bed, blushing and simply letting their hands rest on each other. Silence settled comfortably over the room. The first gentle brush of hands moving had Ryuji shuddering as Akechi very carefully pulled the hem of his shirt out from the waistband of his jeans. Fingers brushing against his skin in such an intimate way was so foreign to him and almost sent him into a panic before he remembered that it was _Akechi_ touching him this way. His boyfriend. His lover. The one person he trusted more than anyone else in the world, save Akira.

Akechi's fingers brushed against his thighs and instead of jerking away he pushed forward into the touch slightly. It caught the both of them by surprise admittedly, and for a brief moment Akechi considered throwing himself completely at Ryuji. But sudden movements weren't the best thing right now, and neither would putting himself over the blond either. This would work fine; he would just have to find a way to keep himself under control.

“How far are you wanting to go?” Akechi whispered quietly before skating his lips along the curve of Ryuji's jaw. Clumsy fingers nervously plucked at the waistband of his pants before sliding up to rest against Akechi's stomach. Ryuji let out a slow, shuddering breath and forced himself to meet Akechi's eyes.

“Not all the way. But...I wanna go as far as I can,” he said. He let his nails scratch against Akechi's skin, honestly loving the shiver he received in return, before his fingers slipped down further to drag the elastic of Akechi's pants down. The brunette raised his hips slowly to help get them down to the middle of his thighs before Ryuji pushed him back down against the bed. “You can...you can touch me. Just go slow.” The hands against his thighs squeezed in reassurance before trailing up towards his belt and very slowly working it open.

A wave of anxiety pushed up to the front of Ryuji's mind, so to fight it down he leaned forward and kissed Akechi again. With the belt open now he had at least one free hand to bring up and cradle the back of Ryuji's neck to add a bit more and remind him just how much he was loved. That everything they were doing and everything they would do moved entirely at Ryuji's pace. As their lips moved together Akechi's hand at his waist began to pull Ryuji's pants down as well, and before he could stop himself he chuckled softly at the sight that greeted him. The blond was quick to pull away and glare at him.

“The hell are you laughing at?” he asked. In response Akechi reached up and snapped the band of Ryuji's boxers hard enough to make him yelp.

“I never saw you as the type to wear neon briefs, is all,” he answered, and Ryuji's entire face flushed bright red. He shoved at Akechi's chest playfully with a pout on his lips adorable enough to have floored Akechi if he weren't already laying on the bed.

“Excuse me, Mister I-Have-Cats-On-My-Boxers, I happen to like these colors!” he huffed. Akechi's face twisted in confusion before he looked down; he groaned and let his head flop back against the headboard in embarrassment.

“Dammit Akira, these are yours! You must have left them mixed in with my dirty laundry! Or did you do this on purpose?” he yelled. Akira began howling with laughter from the bathroom.

“I was wondering where those went! The hell are you doing stealing my underwear!?”

“I didn't steal them, I don't like these! I think they look atrocious! I'm burning them when we get back home!”

“No not the cat ones please! Those are my lucky boxers!” The bathroom door opened and Akira quickly stepped out into the room before coming to a dead stop.

Ryuji was laughing atop Akechi, one hand covering his mouth and the other wrapped around his stomach. Every second or so he would snort awkwardly and have to stop so he could catch his breath but he looked relaxed. Confident. So much more at ease than he had when Akira had gone into the bathroom and it warmed his heart so much to see. Trying to move forward with the tension so thick would only end in less than desirable results.

When the laughter died down Ryuji gave Akechi a warm and calming smile before leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose, then reached down to pull Akechi's cock from his boxers to begin stroking it. Akira felt himself smirk gently as he slipped back off into the bathroom to give the two their privacy, pausing to take in the sight of Akechi was his eyes closed and his hips pushing up into a touch that wasn't his. Their lips met again in another loving kiss at the same moment the door clicked shut and the same moment that Akechi let his hand brush against the front of Ryuji's underwear. The touch was meant to test the waters, see how much he could get away with and how much Ryuji was comfortable with. The blond pushed up into his touch with a quiet but shaky sigh, which was enough encouragement to reach inside and squeeze bare flesh.

The blond melted at the touch, breaking the kiss to push his forehead into Akech's shoulder with ragged breaths. Images of the past kept flashing forward against his will but each one was shoved off to the side from a quiet reassurance or a quick kiss or a gentle stroke of a hand. He kept reminding himself that he was safe and cared for and protected and each little spike of anxiety dropped off into a blissful feeling of comfort and pleasure.

His wrist twitched on a particularly dark thought and Akechi's hips jerked up, a gasp right against Ryuji's ears sending a shudder running from his head down to his toes. Autopilot caused him to pull his bottom lip between his teeth at such a sinful sound, and as he repeated the motion a whine replaced the sigh. Touching another person like this was entirely different than touching yourself like this, he decided, but the sounds he was getting out of Akechi made everything feel so much better.

Fire licked across their skin with each stroke of their hands, lips slotting together awkwardly and tongues sliding together in heated passion. While Ryuji's touch was uncoordinated and sloppy the enthusiasm and adoration more than made up for it. Akechi's practiced and careful strokes sent rolling shudders through the entirety of Ryuji's body, toes curling tight and low and needy whines stuttering out from the back of his throat.

“Goro...” The brunette hissed softly and rocked his hips up into Ryuji's tight grip. His right hand threaded up into Ryuji's hair to pull the strands, eyes fluttering closed, mouth falling open on a low moan.

“Say my name again please,” he begged quietly, squeezing his hand tight enough to make the blond keen and begin rolling his hips forward in a steady rhythm. The blond pressed a sloppy, open mouthed kiss to the corner of Akechi's mouth and dug his nails into the brunette's shoulders.

“Goro...Goro, fuck...fuck Goro, love you so much...” His strokes turned sloppy, his rhythm faltering and grip going slack as he neared his peak. Akechi pulled his hand away, reaching over to bat Ryuji's off to the side as well before jerking him closer to take them both in one hand. Ryuji's knee jerked forward into Akechi's side, earning him a quiet and gasped apology as everything reached a painful peak.

Tears began welling in his eyes, the grip he had on Akechi's shoulder near bruising as he kept himself just this side of okay. Even constantly reminding himself that Akechi was the one holding him like this did nothing to help and brought the panic raising higher. The breaths he took sounded much more strained and painful, and after a moment he even began wheezing. His hand dropped away as his arms wrapped tight around his waist to hold himself and give himself support and try to fight those thoughts away.

Everything was fuzzy for a little while, body moving of its own accord until he found himself settled between Akechi's legs, back to chest and chin atop the crown of his head, clothes settled back in place for both of them. There were two more arms wrapped around his waist and a quiet, silky voice in his ear muttering “You're safe” to him over and over again. Pathetic, Ryuji thought. Couldn't even handle a quick handjob from someone he loved. 

“I'm sorry,” he whispered. The grip around his waist tightened. Akechi then shoved his face into the back of Ryuji's head. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-”

“Don't. Don't apologize,” Akechi said. A kiss to the back of his head eased the tension from his body just a bit. One that pressed right behind his ear made him jerk a bit in surprise. “It isn't your fault. Don't apologize.”

“Aki...Aki-chan...” Akechi slowly raised his hands up to cover Ryuji's ears before yelling for Akira to come join them. His hands then slowly ran down the sides of his neck and shoulders to settle carefully on Ryuji's hips. A few moments later and Akira slid up onto the bed in front of him, hands settled nervously on his thighs as he waited for Ryuji to give him a sign that he would be allowed to touch. The signal came in the form of Ryuji's right hand reaching out to take one of Akira's in a death grip. Immediately Akira readjusted himself to comfortably lay his head in Ryuji's lap, eyes slipping closed and breathing evening out in the hopes that Ryuji will begin to breathe in time with him.

It worked, after a while. Ryuji sniffled a few more times, and he still occasionally sucked in a rapid breath, but for the most part the tension and panic had finally left him. The tension had gone completely from his body and left him a completely boneless puddle against Akechi's chest. A few more moments later and Ryuji had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Akira took the chance to glance at his phone; 12:37 AM. He could get away with taking a few hours' nap here in Ryuji's lap, before he absolutely had to get back to the hotel with Ryuji. He set an alarm for 4 AM and dropped his phone down beside his head as he settled in to a slightly more comfortable position to sleep.

 

Ryuji brought a hand up to block the sunlight from his eyes as he took a deep breath of fresh sea air. Behind him Akira and Akechi argued over which flavor of ice cream was the better one. The anxiety and fear from the night before dissipated after a good nap and a good discussion and almost half an hour of reassurances that morning. Everything would be fine. It would take time, but Ryuji had made the first step. A painful and scary step, but a necessary one.

“...good with floats.”

“I don't see how you can like anything chocolate in a float, Akira, that sounds absolutely disgusting.”

“That may be your opinion but using vanilla in anything just so bland. It's a baby flavor, something you can't even really enjoy because it's _so fucking bland_. Chocolate is the far superior flavor, and you just need to admit it.”

“Why would I admit something that I know to be a lie?”

“I'm not lying, you just have no culture~” Without warning Akira found himself tackled into the water and soaked from head to toe as Akechi dragged himself out while laughing at his boyfriend's misfortune. Akira sputtered a few times to clear the water from his nose and mouth before picking himself up to stalk over towards Akechi.

“You little shit, I'm gonna-”

“Hello Akira! Ryuji! Akechi! Nice to see the three of you here,” Yuuki called out as he bounced over to the trio. Akira immediately pulled away from Akechi and flashed a warm smile in response to Yuuki. Nobody knew the three of them were together yet, and honestly they were a little worried to tell people about it. Things like this could easily get back to Akira's parents, after all.

“Yeah. Ryuji and I came outside for a little bit and happened to run into Akechi here wandering around,” Akira said with a wave of his hand towards the brunette. “We figured we could kill some time out here. Where's Yusuke?”

“I was actually hoping you guys might have seen him...we were walking around together and I stopped to talk with Takamaki, and when I looked back he was gone. I thought maybe he would have wandered this way, but I haven't found him.” Akechi chuckled at that and turned to look behind Yuuki.

“I think I may have found him. What is he carrying...?”

“Yuuki, look what I've found! Come meet our sons!” Yuuki whipped around with wide eyes and genuine concern that Yusuke had somehow managed to procure two _actual_ children to bring home with them. Instead he found his boyfriend carrying-

“Live lobsters!? Where the hell did you get live lobsters from?” he asked. Yusuke stopped in front of him, crustaceans squirming around in their 'father's' hands. Behind Yuuki Akira had a hand over his mouth to stifle his snickers while Akechi kept his back turned to all of them. Their shoulders both twitched from effort.

“I bought them, of course. I want to take them home. I'm sure we can manage that somehow, right? I have room in my dorm for a tank. What do lobsters eat?” Yuuki slapped a hand over his eyes before dragging it down his face with a strained groan. His eyes rolled back up into his head as well. Of all the things Yusuke could have done to surprise him on this trip, buying two lobsters and calling them their 'sons' was definitely not at the top of his preferred list. Why the hell did he have to have such a strange boyfriend?

“Yusuke I don't think we'll be able to get those back home to Japan! And even if we could, where do you expect to get the funds for a tank and water and everything you need to even take care of two lobsters?” he asked. Yusuke hummed to himself and shifted his weight from leg to leg.

“I could cut back on my spending habits, I suppose. I don't need to eat but twice a day...” Now Yuuki buried his face in both of his hands and screamed into his palms. By this point even Ryuji was struggling to hide the fact that he was laughing about this whole situation. At least his 'son' was furry, four-legged, and much more socially acceptable to own than fucking lobsters.

“Yusuke no! You need to eat more than two times a day, that's not healthy for you! You're already bordering underweight, you need to eat more so you don't starve!” Yuuki whined. There wasn't much anyone could do about it, though; Yusuke had already spent the money on the lobsters. The only other option was to eat them.

“I suppose I'm in the mood for lobster for dinner, if you find you can't get them home,” Akira said, and the indignant look Yusuke threw at him made him choke on a laugh. He immediately cradled the two crustaceans to his chest and turned away to hide them from Akira.

“You aren't eating my children.”

“They're not our kids Yusuke! Oh my gooooood~” Yuuki huffed. Akechi was the first to break, doubling over and wheezing as he tried to keep his laughter at at least someone under control. This started a chain reaction and ended with Akira falling to the sand beneath him on his back and laughing hard enough that his stomach began hurting. There were tears in his eyes and Ryuji's head pressed against his shoulder. “Stop laughing about this, this is serious! We can't take care of lobsters!”

“But I...I bought them...I thought they might be good subjects for my art. And the dorm gets lonely when I can't visit you...” Yusuke's shoulders slumped, arms going slack and carefully holding the lobsters in a weak grip. His eyes fogged over as they dropped down to stare at the sand. “I'm sorry, Yuuki. I should have thought before I made my purchase. I'm sure I can find something to do with them before we leave...”

“Hey. Don't worry about it. I'll help you get them home and get everything set up,” Akira promised as he hauled himself up to his feet. A few twinges of pain stayed settled in his stomach as he straightened up. “I don't actually think Yuuki's mad. I think he's just...confused. And concerned. I mean, lobsters? Really?”

“Akira's right. It just caught me off guard,” Yuuki said with a small smile. As he stepped forward his eyes watched the claws on the lobsters, thankful for the fact that they were still bound together, before leaning up to press a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw. “Let's just see if we can actually get them home before we start making plans and stuff. Alright?” Defeated and obviously outnumbered Yusuke relaxed against Yuuki's side with a huff.

“I believe I can agree to that. No sense getting too attached before I've confirmed that I can keep them. Thank you for not getting too angry with me,” he muttered before pressing a soft kiss to the side of Yuuki's head. From off to their left Akechi cleared his throat and nodded his head at the lobsters in Yusuke's grip.

“I would suggest finding a place to keep those two wet until we're ready to return home. I don't know much about lobsters, but I assume they'll need to stay wet to stay alive,” he said. Yusuke hefted them up a bit more into his grip and nodded.

“I suppose you're right. Thank you. Now, where can I find a tank for the children...?” he muttered as he walked off, Yuuki trailing behind him with the world's most defeated look on his face. Akira shook his head from side to side as Ryuji stepped closer to him and took his hand to squeeze.

“I feel so bad for Yuuki right now,” he chuckled. “Things are prob'ly gonna be real interestin' for those two now. Wonder what they'll name 'em if they get to keep 'em?”

“Knowing Yusuke? I'm willing to bet a thousand yen that he names them after famous painters or something,” Akira said. Ryuji hummed to himself before pulling away, fingers twined gently with Akira's, a warm and inviting smile on his face.

“Come on. I wanna swim for a bit before we have to head back to the hotel. Don't really get much time to spend with you two,” he said. He crooked a finger at Akechi to follow them as he continued to drag Akira after him. “I wanna stop by some shops 'nd get some souvenirs. When's the next time we're gonna get to take a trip like this after all?”

“You've got a point, Ryuyu. I want lots of pictures of this. So we don't forget anything,” Akira agreed. His eyes met Akechi's, a look of understanding between them before Akechi was fishing his phone out of his bag nearby.

“Come on. Group picture,” he said and planted himself firmly between both of his boyfriends. He brought the phone up, making absolute sure that it managed to get all three of them in the frame, and snapped a picture of them. Both Ryuji and Akechi leaned over to look the photo over, twin smiles breaking out over their lips.

“Hey send that picture to me,” Akira said quickly. Akechi thumbed over to their conversation and sent the picture over to him. He broke away from his boyfriends and ducked over his bag to pull his phone out as well. He spent the next few minutes sending a slew of messages before dropping his phone back down and hurrying back over to join the other two. “Alright. To the water!”


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi remember when I said I'd have last chapter out on time? Yeah that was before I got work literally the *day* after I fucking posted that update. :) Sorry for the delay! This chapter's actually out on time and I'm happy about it.  
> Also I made a Twitter! I'll get around to posting fic stuff eventually, right now it's just shitposts and fandom stuff LOL. Since Tumblr's going under and all that jazz. @LilPudPud. You'll know it's the right one by the Christmas Neopolitan with the smug look.

Akechi clutched his phone tight to him, eyes glued to the screen, ears cocked to the side to pick up the sounds of Akira and Ryuji playing off in the water a ways off. He sat propped against a rock, sunglasses perched up in his hair, shirt left open and flip flops discarded off to the side. His phone lit up with a new message, which he immediately opened the thread for.

_You sure you want this dude? This is gonna be dangerous if you do this. This guy's huge, you know. He's running for Prime Minister, you're campaigning for him. If he gets wind of this you're dead. And I'm not sure I mean that as an exaggeration._

_I am well aware of what targeting Shido could mean. But I want to. Give me everything you can on him. I want to put an end to him before he gets too big and begins causing even more problems._

_...Alright. Give me a few days. I'll get as much as I can and shoot it your way. Just please be careful. Akira can't take losing you to stupidity._

_If things get dangerous we'll call it even for what he did to me._

He set his phone in his pocket and brought his eyes up to watch his boyfriends splashing around in the ocean happily. Akira had ditched his glasses beside Akechi so they wouldn't get wet. Both their phones were in his other pocket away from his as well. Akira reached down to scoop a bit of water in his hands and splash Ryuji in the face with it, who took a step backwards and immediately tumbled down into the water with a loud yell and an even louder splash. Before Akechi could pull himself out of the sand Akira was scrambling over to help him up and apologizing over and over again for doing that; Ryuji's only response was to laugh and pull Akira in for a kiss.

“Dude it's fine, I found a rock and slipped,” he giggled, one arm looped around Akira's shoulders while the other lay wrapped around his waist gingerly. Both of Akira's hands came up to settle gently on the blond's hips as he leaned in for another kiss that barely lasted a second before Ryuji was giggling and pulling away. Akechi's heart warmed at the sight of Ryuji being so open with Akira, so loving and affectionate, so goddamn happy and comfortable that he could laugh and smile like a normal teenager. He'd been through enough. He deserved this small bit of happiness.

The pair walked back over to settle down beside the brunette, Akira reaching up to ruffle his hair and fling water droplets onto the other two. A warm chuckle vibrated in Akechi's chest as he raised an arm to protect himself from the rogue splashes.

“You're like a cat,” he pointed out before dropping his arm. To spite Akechi (and maybe intentionally prove the point for a bit of humor) he turned and began rapidly licking his cheek repeatedly. Akechi sputtered in response and began trying to shove Akira away. “Cut it out, you idiot! Why are you licking me?”

“You said I was a cat so I should show you how much I love you and bathe you at the same time,” Akira answered before grabbing the other side of the brunette's head and holding him in place as the assault continued. Akechi began laughing almost uncontrollably and continued to try and shove the other off to no avail. On the other side of Akira came some half-hearted attempt at trying to making purring sounds, which only made Akechi laugh harder and give in to Akira's strange behavior. It didn't take long for Akira to burst into giggles instead and push his head into the side of Akechi's neck to begin peppering kisses there lovingly.

“Annoying little furball,” the brunette muttered as he tilted his head to plant a kiss in thick black curls. “You're lucky I'm secretly a cat person.” The sudden snort in his ear tickled and pulled a few quiet giggles from him.

“You're lucky I like arrogant assholes,” Akira countered before leaning up for a proper kiss. Nails scratching at the base of his neck made him purr in content and lean further in. Before the kiss could get any more heated a voice nearby cleared their throat; the pair immediately pulled away with bright flushes on their face.

“K-Kawakami? Ummm...hello,” Akira said quietly, eyes flicking down to the sand. He quickly snatched his glasses up from where he'd left them and dusted them off before shakily sliding them back in place. Kawakami looked like she was getting ready to give him a stern reprimand before she realized who, exactly, he had been kissing.

“...Hey aren't you that detective? Akechi, right?” she asked, and the dread that began rolling off of Akechi in waves was almost palpable. Somehow he made him warm smile believable; Akira could see just how strained it actually was though. “I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't realize you went to Kosei.”

“I do, yes. I decided to take a bit of a vacation from my work, and since my class was taking a trip I figured I could tag along to relax,” he answered. “A shame it's only for five days, but a week for a breather is still nice.” She sighed and shifted her weight from one hip to the other.

“At least you can take a break. I'm stuck keeping an eye on all of these kids. You two included,” she said, shooting a pointed look at Akira and Ryuji. The pair refused to look up and meet her gaze. “I'm also supposed to make sure you don't do anything that could put Shujin in a bad light. That includes kissing Akechi here.”

“It wouldn't be a problem if he were a chick,” Ryuji mumbled. His voice carried just enough for Kawakami to pick it up.

“Of course it wouldn't be an issue if he were a girl. But he isn't, and I'd rather avoid any problems coming up from these two not being careful,” she said with a gentle wave of her hand. “I don't like playing the bad guy, I know you've been through enough as it is. But I do have a job to do, and it's harder to hide things like that while we're here. I already turned a blind eye to you getting back to the hotel so late the other night. Now I know what you were doing.”

“That's not what happened!” Ryuji said suddenly. His face went bright red immediately. “Uhhhh...”

“Ryuyu is right. We were simply talking in my room and unfortunately he suffered a flashback. They were both late back because of it. My apologies, I would have sent someone if I'd been in a clear state of mind,” Akechi said. “I really do hope we didn't cause you any issues from that.” Kawakami set both hands on her hips and scowled.

“Thankfully you didn't. I only know they got in late because I saw them trying to sneak down the path back that night,” she said. “Look I don't care what you three do, that's all on you guys, but if you get caught then it's on me, and I get in trouble. Thankfully we're going back tonight, so can you just behave a little bit longer? For me?” Akechi flashed his trademark smile at her and nodded sharply.

“I promise I'll keep these two under control,” he said. “My apologies, I didn't intend to cause problems. Though...I hope you'll have some discretion and not mention what you saw to anyone else here? I have a...public image to maintain, of course.” Understanding flashed across her face.

“Of course. I don't want you causing problems for me, so why would I cause problems for you? My lips are sealed. Just keep the hormones under check,” she said as she walked away. At the far end Ryuji let out a shaky sigh and leaned back onto his palms. A weak chuckle followed it.

“That was scary as hell. I was sure she'd start yellin' at us or somethin',” he said. He let his head fall to rest on Akira's shoulders and let his eyes close. “'m kinda tired...” A hand began smoothing up and down his back slowly, pulling a purr from him and easing more tension from his body.

“I don't think sleeping right now is a good idea,” Akira said. “If you sleep now you'll be awake on the trip back, and then it'll take you longer to get over the jet lag. Come on, let's stay awake for a little bit longer. Why don't we go have a date, hmm? That way we'll have something to do. We can sleep on the way back home.” Ryuji whined, shoving his face into the side of Akira's neck pitifully. That sounded awful. Not the date part, the staying awake part.

“Akira has a point. And besides, once we get back it'll be a few days before you'll be able to see me again. I'd like to spend as much time with you as possible,” Akechi said. Ryuji huffed after a moment and slowly raised his head. Dammit, he had a point, and he hated it. Spending the rest of the day curled up together on a nice plush bed and sleeping sounded like a much better idea.

“Alright...but we should probably head back and change first, if we're gonna do the whole 'date' thing,” Ryuji muttered as he pulled himself to his feet. Taking a few moments to dust himself off he managed to fight down a jaw-cracking yawn and shook his head roughly from side to side. He reached down to grab Akir's hand and help pull him up but instead found himself pulled down into Akira's lap. “Wha-hey, Kawakami warned us man! We gotta-” Akira set a hand on the back of Ryuji's neck and brought him in for a sweet kiss, which the blond immediately melted into, before carefully setting a hand on his hip to squeeze. When they broke apart Akira had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Sorry. Had to get one more good kiss in,” he said before helping Ryuji up to his feet and following him. Red spread from Ryuji's shoulders all the way up to his ears in embarrassment. Akechi chuckled softly and both of his boyfriends agreed the sound was a wonderful one that they wanted to hear more often.

“Let's hurry you two. We don't have long,” he said as he walked off towards his hotel. Ryuji and Akira turned the other direction to leave, their pinkies lacing together discreetly, fingers brushing against the other's palms as they walked.

 

Akira didn't know why Sojiro called him downstairs so soon after he got back from Hawaii (he'd only been home one night, did something happen while he was gone?) but he was ready to admit that it scared him. Sojiro hadn't shown any open hostility towards Akira but things...things could change. And he knew that, and that scared him. When he settled into his seat at the counter of Leblanc he couldn't stop himself from glancing repeatedly at the door. If he needed to make a run for it he could go to Akechi's place. Maybe crash there, maybe move there, get out of Sojiro's hair and stop causing problems. That's what this was about right?

The cup of coffee put in front of him definitely caught him off guard too. On instinct he reached out for it but stopped himself before looking up at Sojiro. The fear in his eyes must have been enough to give the older man pause, as after a moment he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Don't worry kid. You're not in trouble,” he promised quietly. “Go ahead and take the coffee. You look like you could use the pick-me-up.” Akira slowly reached forward and took a slow sip as Sojiro began speaking. “...Your parents haven't called in a bit. Not since that one day. Is everything okay?” The scowl across Akira's face wasn't a pretty one.

“Don't worry. It's fine. I'm fine,” he said quietly. After taking another sip he added, “I'm used to this.” For a moment it looked like Sojiro might end up slamming his hand into the wood in anger but caught himself after a moment and instead settled for drumming his fingers against it roughly. After a long moment he leaned forward to make sure that Akira would look him in the eyes.

“That's no excuse for the way your parents treat you, kid. I haven't heard a word from them asking how you're doing. They called you just to tell you you're going back home after your probation like you didn't already know that. I mean I knew your mom was awful but...I also thought they'd at least pretend to care.” Akira scoffed and waved a hand at Sojiro absently.

“The only thing they care about is me making them look good, I'm almost positive. Minato practically raised me after we met each other. They haven't really paid me much mind, except to tell me when I do something wrong,” he said. After a moment he let out a quiet sigh. “But at the same time...they did take care of me and raise me. And they sometimes buy me nice hings. And they're just...trying to make sure that I get somewhere in life. That's what they say.” Sojiro set his hands on the counter and glared daggers at the cup of coffee in Akira's hands.

“That's no way to treat a kid. They may tell you that crap but doesn't mean it's right. If they really wanted a kid then dammit they should take care of you instead of treating you like a commodity or something,” he snapped. “Your mother and I never really got along all that well, but seeing you here and listening to you just makes me hate her more. Honestly if I could keep you I would but your mom's made it pretty damn clear she wants you back. Don't know why, but...” Akira's only offered response was to shrug and continue drinking his coffee.

“I don't know either. Maybe they think I'll make a good example for them at all of their stupid parties. They always talk about me and how good I'm doing and how 'proud' they are of me, but they never actually say it to my face. All I ever hear is how bad my grades are and how bad my friends were. They screamed at me for almost an hour after I got arrested. They only stopped because they had to go to bed for work in the morning,” he said flatly. His phone chimed beside him; a quick glance told him that Ryuji had messaged him. The smile that raised up on his lips from that was far less thrilled than it should have been. “...I don't even wanna know what they'd think about me dating Ryuyu and Goro...”

“They'd probably be just as angry as when you were arrested. Which is stupid. You look damn happy with those two,” he pointed out. His fingers twitched; he wanted a cigarette but right now Akira could use some guidance and reassurance. He hadn't been through the things that Akira had, his parents hadn't been as cruel, but he had seen his fair share of awful things from those around him growing up. A few of his old friends had been in nasty homes growing up. He remembered where they ended up in their lives.

A part of him honestly worried that Akira may end up going down the wrong path. Sure, he was behaving now, and not causing issues yet, but things change. One wrong new friend, one wrong encounter, and he could very easily fall into the cracks and disappear into nasty back alleys. If his parents wouldn't step up and do their goddamn job, then Sojiro would have to do what he could.

“Hey. If you need someone to listen, you can just talk to me,” he said. “I know I sometimes come off as a hard-ass, but I do care about you. I wouldn't have taken you in if I didn't.”

“You didn't know me before though...did you?” he asked. Sojiro shook his head and continued to drum his fingers on the counter.

“I met you a few times, when you were real little. Just a few,” he said lowly. “...We had a bit of a falling out when you were a little over a year old. When they told me you got arrested and that I'd be taking care of you it shocked the hell out of me. I expected to see some loud-mouthed inconsiderate uncaring brat. Not some sixteen year old that looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly.”

It took every ounce of Akira's willpower to keep from laughing at that. Oh, he had hurt more than flies during his life. But Sojiro didn't need to know that. To keep himself from slipping he opened the message from Ryuji to distract himself.

_Wanted to know if you were free later. Yuuki's parents want us both outta the house, and he's going to Yusuke's. Can I hang out with you?_

_Of course you can. We'll just have to keep it quiet. Looking forward to spending the day with you._

_Great! See you soon babe! <3_

Akira smiled warmly and carefully set his phone back down. Maybe he should make some curry. They would need something to eat while they were hanging out. Or maybe they should get something from Big Bang Burger? Oh, Ryuji really liked ramen. Maybe he should get some?

The bell over the door rang and broke him from his thoughts. A quick glance had his heart beating painfully in his chest. Akechi stood there in much more casual clothes than Akira was used to seeing him in, hair tied back in a ponytail, gentle flush coloring his skin a soft red. The moment he saw Akira he smiled.

“Ah. Akira. I was hoping you would be awake. I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule and I'm afraid I'm doing an awful job of it. I was dozing off at my desk earlier today...perhaps you could treat me to some of your coffee? It always seems to perk me up,” he said. Before Sojiro could open his mouth Akira was scrambling out of his seat and off behind the counter.

“Yeah, sure. Of course. Lots of cream and sugar, right?” Akechi laughed softly as he moved to take a seat across from him. For a moment he felt certain that he'd seen hearts in Akira's eyes as though he'd been charmed in a video game.

“Of course. You know my tastes so well,” he said cheerfully. Sojiro rolled his eyes and decided to step out for that cigarette finally.

“Kids,” he muttered as the door closed behind him. It was nice, seeing him so happy at that young age. He remembered how much of a playboy he'd been at that age, how many girl's hearts he'd broken, and remembered how much he wished he'd settled down a lot sooner when he was older. God he he wished he hadn't run off on Wakaba all those years ago...maybe things would have turned out better for Futaba. Maybe he wouldn't be some miserable old man, either.

Akira drifted to the front of his mind, and the normally deep lines of his face only grew more pronounced as he scowled. He wanted to believe the kid would turn out okay but between his parents and the way society would look at him, Sojiro couldn't be entirely certain he would. He'd give what support he could though, and would hope that it was enough. The kid may not actually be his but he was damn sure gonna treat him like he was.

When he stepped back inside he saw the pair disappearing up into the attic with soft giggles, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what they were doing. He'd be decent enough to pretend not to hear anything as long as they didn't get too loud or keep it up when customers came around. No sense embarrassing them. When Ryuji showed up shortly afterwards he was waved upstairs and warned to keep the noise to minimum.

At the first creak of the floorboards the sound of scuffling and muffled swears filtered down to Ryuji, who paused and brought a hand up to cover his mouth and stifle a laugh. As he reached the top of the stairs he found Akria smoothing his shirt down and Akechi running his hand through his hair to fix some of the mess. 

“Oh. Ryuyu. We thought you were Boss,” Akira said. He cleared his throat to remove some of the husk from it and flashed a crooked smile. “We were just...trying to get Mona out from underneath my bed.”

“Mrrow!” Three heads turned to the attic window to see a small little black and white face peering inside with a matching paw tapping repeatedly against the glass. Akechi shot Akira a deadpan look and walked over to the window to open it and let the feline in.

“...Okay so we weren't trying to get Mona out from under my bed,” Akira laughed. “To be honest I don't know why I lied to you.” Ryuji snorted, an ugly thing that The other two in the room insisted was actually cute, and set his bag down beside the top of the stairs.

“I dunno why either. Maybe your brain still thought I was Boss for a sec,” he said. He walked over and turned to flop down onto the mattress. The moment he connected a near-deafening 'crack' echoed in the tiny space. Three pairs of eyes locked for the briefest of moments before Ryuji suddenly sunk down another three inches with a squawk and a louder crack.

“Shit Ryuyu! Are you alright?” Akechi immediately stood in a panic and moved to help the blond stand but paused when Ryuji began laughing. He stared in disbelief before a few aborted chuckle ended up turning into full-on laughter, which Akira joined in as well from the side. Eventually the entire attic and even the cafe downstairs was filled with the sound of giggles and snorts from the trio. After giving themselves enough time to calm down Akira and Akechi both helped Ryuji out of his little divot and up onto his feet. Sojiro poked his head over the top of the stairs immediately after.

“What the hell's going on up here?” he asked. For the first time in a long while the sound of an adult raising their voice left no one on edge; Akira turned around calmly with an arm wrapped around his stomach to answer his guardian.

“R-Ryuji broke one of the crates when he sat down!” he stuttered out. “It c-cracked and we all just...just stared at each other before it broke!” Sojiro dropped his eyes to see a few shattered pieces of plastic scattered around the floor and the cat sniffing at them curiously. For a moment he almost wanted to yell at them for being so loud and breaking his property but seeing the obvious joy on their faces stopped them. They were just kids finding humor in the weirdest of things. He couldn't fault them on that.

“I've been meaning to get him a proper frame anyway. Guess this is as good a time as any,” he said with a bit of laughter in his own voice. “Sorry I got lazy on that.”

“Don't...don't apologize, it's fine,” Akira wheezed out. He wiped a few stray tears from under his eyes and patted Ryuji gently on the back between his shoulders. “I told you not to flop on my bed dude. Ryuji's breath hitched a bit as he tried to calm down enough to give a proper reply.

“Sorry man, I kinda forgot,” he said with a hand over his mouth. There was another snort, but not from Ryuji, which caused them both to turn on Akechi. His hand hand was over his mouth as well, and the moment he realized they were staring at him he laughed again.

Although, the more accurate description for the sound was undeniably a snort.

“D-don't look at me!” he argued while turning away. His shoulders shook a few times before he let out another sound. “Don't say a word!”

“Oh my god Go-chan that is the cutest thing ever,” Ryuji said. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and held him close as he continued to shake in a failed attempt at keeping himself from making more embarrassing sounds. He quickly whipped around and shoved his face into the blond's neck to hide the redness of his skin. How would he ever be able to live this down? He would never be able to, that's how. They would never let him live this down, never let him forget about it and constantly tease him in the hopes of getting him to laugh simply so they could make fun of that damn snort.

“I love it, it's great, it's the cutest thing I think I've ever heard and I want to hear more of it,” Akira said as he stepped around to pull both Akechi and Ryuji in to a tight hug. “Please never snort like that for anyone else, that sound is only for us.”

“You're an asshole Akira,” Akechi choked out past another fit of laughter. He eventually began to pull away, hands raising up to begin massaging at his cheek muscles and ease some of the strain in them. “I'm so embarrassed I haven't done that in ages.”

“Just means you're comfortable around us,” Akira pointed out with a warm smile and god Akechi couldn't believe that realization just slapped him in the face. Being around these two left him feeling so warm and confident and loved that he tried to hide less and less of who he really was. He felt he could be the idiot that snorted at the worst possible time and made corny jokes (most of which he actually learned from Souji) and even maybe cry over things when he was upset. Ryuji and Akira gave him the sense of being a person instead of a celebrity for the public to snap up and ogle over. The smile that spread across his face felt so unnatural yet warm at the same time.

“I suppose you have a point,” he said softly. Their eyes met, and Akira gave him the warmest, most comforting look Akechi had seen since he was younger. In return he gave a dopey grin and reached forward to let his fingers slide in between Akira's. “It's...nice.”

“It is,” Ryuji agreed and set his head on Akechi's shoulder. He let an arm wrap around Akechi's waist to squeeze affectionately and kissed his cheek softly. From the top of the stairs Sojiro cleared his throat, making the trio jerk and begin to pull away from each other.

“I'm gonna leave you lovebirds alone while I go get a frame for that mattress,” he said as he turned downstairs. “Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone.”

“I'm gonna light a candle and knock it over then,” Akira said as calmly as he could manage while walking over to the TV to turn it on. “Don't worry, I'll save the coffee.”

“Thanks kid!” Sojiro yelled from the bottom of the stairs. The laughter proved infectious as he began chuckling to himself. Things certainly hadn't been boring since he'd taken Akira in, that was for damn sure.

He just wished he could keep the kid away from his shitty parents.

 

Later that night, with the lights turned off, the TV providing background noise, and the fresh patter of rainfall pouring down, Akira lay cuddled in between both Akechi and Ryuji with his phone in his face while scrolling through his messages. Ryuji's head rest firmly in the center of his chest while Akechi's sat cradled in the crook of his neck with his face buried into the pillow to block the light out. Their arms wrapped around his waist in some sort of comforting cocoon.

Futaba's message thread opened up on its own before a flood of screenshots slammed in faster than he could read through them. Eventually they came to a standstill, and normal texts came through.

_Dude you gotta stop Crow. He's going after fucking Shido._  
_He's got Akechi by the balls, there's a reason he's campaigning so hard for Shido. You guys have been threatened, if Akechi doesn't do what he wants you two are gonna get hurt._  
_That's his fucking dad too oh my god. No wonder._  
_He asked me to get as much info on Shido as I could but I haven't sent him anything. I told him it would take me a few days I literally just finished._  
_There's so much sketchy shit in these files OMG._

_Calm down Futaba, I can't read all of this with you sending me message after message. Give me a minute to read through everything._

_You don't have to, I'll give you the basics._  
_Akechi's dad ditched him and his mother when he found out she was pregnant with Akechi. She took care of him as best she could but she couldn't take it and killed herself. Bullet to the head, quick and clean, legal gun she had for protection._  
_Akechi got shuffled off into foster care and let me tell you, that shit's messed up. He bounced through five homes and all of them kept saying he was a 'problem child.'_  
_Shido found him at 11 and took him in, 13 he ran away and got kicked out. That's where he met his mentor and picked up as Crow two years later._  
_He planned on using Akechi for his political career but when that backfired he planned on selling Akechi off to his supporters. He got too famous for that though and dropped it, thank god._  
_He's done plenty of shady shit even before Akechi was born to try and get that Prime Minister seat._  
_Akira you have to keep him form making a stupid decision please I don't wanna think about what would happen if he tried to kill Shido._

_What made him suddenly interested in killing this guy? Is he really Akechi's dad?_

_Name's on his original birth certificate. It's his dad alright. And I'm pretty sure the threats towards you and Ryuji made him change his mind about just how loyal he'd be. You two come first to him._  
_If you don't stop him he's gonna try and get the bastard as Crow. Hell, maybe not even as Crow. Maybe just a social suicide by outright murdering him and not even trying to hide the evidence._

_Alright, alright. I'll talk to him about it in the morning. He and Ryuyu are sleeping right now, and I don't want to wake either of them up. Thanks for the heads up._

_No problem. Figured you would want to know. Night nerd._

_Night._

He took the newfound silence to begin scrolling through the screenshots Futaba had spammed him with. Financial records of bribes given to him from people wanting political power but unable to take it themselves, back alley deals with assassins for opposition to be killed, forced silence from Akechi's mother about his birth and lineage, a few sales for human trafficking of all fucking things, and from Kaneshiro no less...reading everything that Shido had done in his life made Akira's stomach curl in disgust and rage. How could someone do such heartless, horrible things?

He looked down at Akechi's sleeping face, peaceful and relaxed and unburdened by the strain of his everyday life as a detective, his work as Crow, all of it. In that moment he looked to be every bit the eighteen year old he really was, and it broke Akira's heart to know that would never change so long as Shido lived. The source of so much strife in his life had been from one sick bastard, and nothing had been done about it yet.

Akira had promised not to let Akechi do something stupid. He had never promised that he wouldn't do something stupid.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I BET Y'ALL THOUGHT THIS WAS ABANDONED DIDN'T YOU? NAH FAM, JUST TOOK ME A BIT TO GET MY GROOVE BACK. This was a gentle chapter, near the end, I think it's needed right now. Also I discovered that taking care of lobsters as pets can get _very_ expensive and that most likely the two lobsters that Yusuke have are Japanese spiny lobsters. The more you know!  
>  Also props to anyone that can figure out what game I gave the boys, I decided to be nice and upgrade Akira from what is essentially an Atari to at least a Playstation 1 LOL.  
> Also I apologize profusely for Ryuji's _wildly_ inconsistent dialogue, I'm still not sure how to write how lazy he actually talks and I'm trying to find a balance, god he's worse than writing for Reno FSDHJKFhdsl.

Futaba rolled around in her chair to check a few things on her setup, rambling on to Fuuka about various tech things and some new games coming out that she was interested in. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and joy at having another person to talk with like this. She'd been shut up in her room so long that the possibility of making friends was...a nice thought.

“...ended up torrenting the whole album because I couldn't wait for an official release,” she said as she slid back into place in front of her keyboard. “I mean, I'm gonna buy three copies of it once it finally does, but I wanted to make sure it was actually something I'd like, you know? This is Risette's last album, sure, but some artists just make shit final albums so they don't have to worry about people wanting them to come back.” Fuuka giggled from her bed, a dainty hand pressed over her lips.

“You know, you could have just asked me. I'm sure Rise would have gladly given me an extra copy of it when I saw her last,” she said, and Futaba immediately whipped around in her seat to stare wide-eyed at her guest.

“What? You know Risette personally!? That's not fair! How!?”

“I met her through Minato and Souji. She's very sweet. Her partners are wonderful people. Akechi knows one of them personally; Shirogane Naoto? I'm sure you know her,” she said. Futbaa grabbed a can of snacks from the desk beside her keyboard and cracked open the lid to start munching on them.

“'Course I know who that is. The first Detective Prince. Didn't realize Akechi knew her. Or that she had a partner?” Futaba said, voice raising in question at the end. Fuuka chuckled and carefully reached over to the can of soda she had been so graciously given. After taking a small drink she set it back down where it had been resting before.

“She has two. A boyfriend and a girlfriend. They're very happy together. They're all such sweethearts...I think Kanji and Ryuji might get along great. Ken too, he looks up to Akechi so much even if they're the same age.” She hummed and pulled over a bag of chips to open carefully. “Akechi should be careful if he decides to go for Shido. I'm surprised you haven't given him the information he asked for.”

Futaba's head snapped up to stare at her in confusion and even a bit of fear, a single pretzel hanging out of her mouth. After a moment she bit down, the pretzel snapping with a satisfying crack, and began chewing thoughtfully. Fuuka knowing about that wasn't surprising; she could get her way into just about any network she wanted to, even with the best encryption and firewalls she could code. What scared her was the fact that Fuuka felt it necessary to bring it up at all. The only reason she would was because she had a plan, and Futaba would almost assuredly be involved somehow.

“...I don't want him making a stupid decision,” she finally answered after a while. She set the can of pretzels down on her desk and pulled her knees up to her chest to hold them. Her chin came to rest gently atop them so she could maintain eye contact as best she could. “I know he'll try to kill Shido, but it's...it's not safe. Shido won't let anything happen to himself, and if Akechi tries then Ryuji and Akira may end up killed. If three people die I want them all to deserve it. Not two innocents getting caught in the crossfire.” Slowly Fuuka nodded, shuffling a little bit to make herself more comfortable on the small bed.

“I understand. But you also need to understand that it isn't our place to prevent them from making stupid decisions. It's simply our place to prevent them from getting caught,” she pointed out. Futaba narrowed her eyes at Fuuka and straightened up just a bit so she could rest her arms on her knees instead.

“What the hell? You're kidding me right? Of course it's our job to keep them from doing stupid shit! We can't cover completely for them, if they do something too obvious they might get caught! If Akechi tries to take down Shido it'll start a shit storm and I'm not letting that happen,” she snapped. Futaba watched as Fuuka carefully brought one leg up over the other and set her hands on her knees.

“It isn't your place. I know you're worried for Akechi but he's made his decisions. Kurusu plans to force a confession with the information you've given him, you know. He's been researching the best way to get Shido alone and bring him to his warehouse for the confession. So far his only solution is to grab Shido in public and hope he isn't caught my any of the police surrounding him, or try to take him when he's in his office,” she explained.

“That's stupid, he'll get caught!” She reached across her desk to snatch her phone up and pulled up the thread with Akira. “I can't let him do that I won't! I shouldn't have sent him all of that, it was stupid and a mistake!”

“If Shido's campaign is successful and he becomes prime minister he'll drive this country into the ground. He'll bring the economy to its knees and put a stranglehold on everything and everyone. He needs to be stopped. And you know that leaking audio and text files won't be enough to end him. There is nothing that either you or myself can do. This rests firmly on Kurusu's or Akechi's shoulders to be dealt with. If you won't help either of them then I will. Kurusu is a close friend of yours, I understand. But when you reached out to him and offered to protect him and help him you knew what you were getting into. The only thing you can do now is to make sure everything goes the way it's meant to.”

A low whine vibrated in the back of Futaba's throat, her face shoving itself into her knees to muffle the quiet yell that followed it. As much as she hated it...she knew Fuuka was right. Sitting aside and yelling at both Akechi and Akira while refusing help would only put both of them in danger and make them even more insistent on ending Shido's life, whether for personal gain or for the revenge of a lover. All she could do now, really, was to help them avoid being caught. She had a job to do, whether she liked it or not.

“...Alright. Alright, I'll help Akira. He's the safest bet. Shido doesn't know exactly who he is, just that he's one of Akechi's friends. I just...I just don't know how to keep him from actually getting caught,” she admitted quietly. “Shido's got all kinds of connections, all kinds of people to help protect him. Getting him alone and somewhere that Akira can take him won't be easy. We need some sort of help for it, but...there's only four people that know what they do, because I don't want Akechi involved. Minato has influence for higher-ups and important people but I don't think he'll be much help, and Souji...” She stopped mid-sentence, face beginning to twist just a little bit in thought. Slowly her eyes widened, her back straightening up more as slowly but surely things began falling into place. “Souji! He's with the cops, he's the perfect person to help! Holy shit!” This time she opened up the thread she had with Souji and began typing furiously.

From her bed Fuuka smiled warmly. Sometimes you needed a bit of an outside perspective to finally get you over mental blocks you put up yourself.

 

“I still don't like that you're doing this.” Futaba glared over at Akira as he continued scrolling through his phone, hair pinned up with a small hair clip and a sucker courteously provided from Akech's secret stash clamped firmly between his teeth. His only response was to hum softly and shrug a little bit. The glare turned sharper as she pulled her own phone out.

_I'm still not sure this is the right decision._

_I think it's the right decision. We spoke about this. Do your best, but don't be afraid to call me if you need help. I'll be glad to step in and provide any assistance needed. I believe in you both!_

_Thanks for the vote of confidence, Juno._

_You're welcome, Oracle._

“Oh. Good. I didn't have to wait long.” Futaba raised her head to see Souji standing in the doorway to Leblanc with a bag slung over his shoulder and a very confused expression. He quietly let the door shut behind him and took a moment to glance around the cafe. “Where's Sojiro?”

“He's getting groceries right now. He'll be out for another hour or so, meaning we have to work fast to get everything planned out,” Futaba said as she leaned forward in her seat. She calmly reached down to fish her laptop out of her bag and took a moment to pull up a map of the city as Souji took a set in the booth beside Akira. “I still say this is a stupid idea...”

“Say it's stupid all you want, but I think it's safer than Akechi getting his hands dirty and caught. Shido would recognize him in a heartbeat and use that to his advantage. We can't risk that,” Akira said as he dropped his phone onto the table. The ease with which he could slip into his Joker persona was impressive to see first hand. “So what's the plan, Futaba?”

“Well. The plan is, we're going to make this calling card as public as possible. We need to make damn sure he sees it. I don't think your normal means are gonna be any good,” she pointed out. “I've got an idea, but we're gonna need to have a safe place to set it up. We can't stage it at your warehouse, there's a chance they could track the broadcast to where it's originating and raid the place. They won't find me, I'll be buying a fake router to set up and ditching it there.”

“Wait, what are you suggesting?” Souji asked with a furrowed brow. Akira flashed a grin and shifted around so one foot rest on the cushion beneath him.

“We're gonna broadcast Shido's calling card live, aren't we?” he asked, and Futaba felt herself grin broad enough to match him. “Mmmm. Delicious. That won't be hard, we've already got all of the evidence we need to get him. But I also know that physical threats won't be enough to get to him. Just a gut feeling. So I'm gonna need your help with breaking him down once he's in the chair.”

“We'll hash those details out later, same with the calling card. Right now we need to focus on our plan of snatching Shido and making sure you don't get caught with him,” Futaba turned her laptop around so both Souji and Akira could get a proper look at the screen.

“I've been thinking about that, and that's why Bowl Cut's here. He's gonna be a big help for this one,” she said. Souji looked over to her with the softest expression of confusion she had ever seen.

“Bowl Cut...?”

“Update your hair dude, maybe I wouldn't call you that. ANYWAY! After the calling card's feed cuts off the police are probably gonna be swarming all over Shido to keep him safe no matter how hard he fights. It's Souji's job to make sure he's placed on guard duty, so he can lead the guy off somewhere for Akira to snatch him up.”

“It won't just be me. Shido's a politician, he's someone the public trusts and wants defended, especially after Goro's preaching. There will be at least four police officers surrounding him at all times. If I get put on that detail then you'll have three rogue elements to deal with,” Souji pointed out. Akira shrugged and reached up to unclip his hair from in front of his face.

“Won't be hard to get my hands on some tear gas or knockout gas. Maybe a homemade smoke screen bomb if I can't get my hands on either of those, there's a weapon's dealer here in the city who can get some...questionably legal things if I throw enough money at him. I need to replace my knife, the blade's a little dull and I've had that thing since I started anyway. I think I want to upgrade it,” he said calmly. “Alright so look here. This alley is pretty close to his office, I think the sooner I get him the better.”

“No. You need to wait to get him. His office will be swarming with cops. I don't know where he lives, but I wouldn't be surprised if his place is pretty close to his office, which means you'll-”

“Nah. He lives in a high rise waaaaaay the hell away from his office,” Futaba answers and pulls out a small little tablet with a pen. She circles a small building on the far end of the city and wrote beneath it 'Shido's penthouse'. “There's a good stretch of back alleys and damn near abandoned streets that Akira can use to grab him, but getting him down any of them is gonna be a hassle. He's confident but not cocky, he'll want to play it safe after the calling card. Getting him into position won't be easy.”

“There's a chance he won't be willing to walk, either, which means someone will be chaperoning him around, and I'm willing to be they'll put police officers along the common routes towards his home as well. We might be able to convince him to take a detour if we come up with a believable enough excuse...? But I don't know what we might be able to use,” Souji admitted.

“Shido's cocky. He called the police and got me framed for assault just because he didn't want to deal with the possible harassment charge from the woman I caught him with,” Akira huffed. “I'm willing to bet that he'll take the quickest route to get back to his place, not the safest, since he'll think he's safe from everything. Now if it's the route I'm thinking of, it's gonna take him down this back street right here.” He reached forward and carefully pointed at a long alleyway carefully tucked off into the back away from the main streets. “It's a straight shot from his office to his home, he'll think he's safe the whole way and the sooner he gets to his penthouse the sooner he can bulk up with his private security force and tell the police to fuck off. If we're really fucking lucky Shido will only insist on one cop escorting him. If Souji can nab that spot then there won't be an issue.”

“You'll still need to drug me and knock me out though,” Souji pointed out calmly. When Akira looked at him in confusion he elaborated with, “Simply saying you knocked me out won't be enough to completely wipe the guilt off of me. Hitting me with that knockout gas you mentioned or even some basic chloroform will make absolutely certain that they don't suspect I'm working with you. We have to cover all of our bases, we can't risk anything.”

“Are you sure? It's pretty awful waking up from getting knocked out.” Souji waved an arm absently and dropped his bag up onto the table.

“It's no issue. I've taken some pretty strong cold meds before, I'm sure the feeling will be the same,” he pointed out. He opened up the bag and reached in to pull out a small wrapped gift. “Also Minato told me I missed your birthday this year, so I went out and bought you something to make up for it. Happy belated birthday, Akira.”

“Souji you really didn't have to do that you know,” he chuckled as he took the gift. He carefully unwound the ribbon from the top before setting it off to the side and carefully pulling the pieces of tape up to remove the wrapping paper without leaving a mess. The box he was greeted with caused him to gasp in excitement and break out in a wide smile.

“Holy shit Souji! This is the exact one I was looking at buying from Iwai, how did you-never mind, don't answer,” he said and carefully pulled the lid of the box off. Inside there was a shiny, brand new knife with a nice mother-of-pearl grip and a serrated edge to it. The tip of the knife curled inward slightly, providing a convenient hook for dragging out body parts Akira might deign to pluck from his victims. When he pulled the blade out to balance on two of his fingers it wobbled only as much as his hand shook. He took a few moments to flip it around and get a feel for the knew weight of it before sliding it back into the box and leaning over to hug him tightly. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem. I considered getting you a box of condoms but Minato suggested I hold off on the gag gifts for a few years,” he pointed out, and Akira choked on air as he pulled away.

“Not that I need them, Goro doesn't like the way they feel and I don't really like them ei-”

“Can we not get onto the topic of your sex life and instead focus on planning out the kidnapping?” Futaba huffed. Akira laughed and slid the lid on the box before flipping over the back of the booth to get out without making Souji move.

“Yeah, just let me stick this upstairs so Boss doesn't see it,” he said as his feet hit the polished wood. “I'll need to spend a week or two practicing with it before I can actually use it without making myself look like an idiot.” The worried look on Futaba's face didn't go unnoticed as he darted up the stairs.

“You don't look okay with that,” Souji pointed out carefully. Futaba's answer came in the form of her dragging her laptop back to her and sighing in frustration.

“I'm still just...really worried. That things could fuck up and he could get caught. We need time. The elections aren't until later on this year, in December. I want us to get everything set up before we start getting everything set up. I don't think we should wait until the absolute last day, but...I think we should spend a few months getting things in order. You need to be someone the police here will trust, meaning you need to do things that will help out around the office. I don't want you saying anything specific about Shido, just maybe that you think he's got a nice voice or that he seems really serious about his views. It might make the higher ups think about you when the time comes and they're looking for someone to protect him. I'll take the time to hunt around and try to find a place to set up the feed for the calling card later. I think that we should look around for a place near the street where he'll be getting nabbed from.”

“I think that's a good idea, actually,” Souji agreed. “There's no sense in jumping in head first to this when we aren't prepared. That's how people get caught. And Shido's a much bigger target than any of the ones Akira has gone after before. This will absolutely take extra preparation. Do you think you can handle the calling card set up?”

“Yeah. If I need to I can just have Juno chip in and help out. I think I might do that anyway. This whole thing...it's got me jittery. One wrong step and Akira's in jail for seventeen counts of murder,” she said quietly. “He helped me a lot. I don't want anything happening to him. Honestly I don't think I want him doing this, but...he's made his choice. And if he doesn't do it then Akechi will. I'll have to spend the next few months trying to keep Akechi in the dark because if he finds out about this then...he'll just try to do it himself, and all of this planning will be for nothing. I don't want that.” A hand settled gently onto her shoulder to squeeze it in a reassuring way.

“I know you don't. But I promise you, everything will work out in the end. You won't let anything happen to him, and I know Juno won't either. You two can work together and make sure everything goes off perfectly. I believe in you both, and I believe in Akira too,” he said. Futaba raised her head to look over at him and nodded slowly.

“I know. I need to have faith in us. I'm just scared. We aren't even doing this now but I'm still worked up over it. Were you this nervous before your kills?” she asked. Souji set his hands carefully in his lap and tilted his head a bit as he thought.

“...I was. The anxiety is normal. Akira though...Akira's like Minato. Emotions are hard for him. I've noticed, and even Minato's admitted to it. Just try to push it to the back of your mind and keep telling yourself this is for the greater good, because it is. Shido's bad news, I can feel it in my gut. That bastard hurt Goro when he was younger...it may be a little selfish for me to step in and help here, but Goro can't be involved. This is my way of helping like I promised.”

“You really do care about him, don't you?”

“Of course I do. I'm willing to help his boyfriend kill his father, he's like a little brother to me,” Souji chuckled. The sounds of footsteps coming downstairs cut the conversation short, with Akira jumping down the final few stairs to land firmly on the floor.

“Ryuji's coming over tonight to spend it here. We'd be at Akechi's but he wants tonight to be just about us. A sort of date night it looks like. Futaba can you please not snoop in things?” he asked. Futaba clicked her laptop shut before stuffing it in her bag and sliding out of her seat.

“Since you asked so nicely,” she said. For a moment Akira wondered if she were teasing but the look in her eyes told him she was being completely honest with him right now. He nodded to her and turned to Souji now.

“It'll be a while before we do this. We all need time to prepare. Think you can keep Goro from finding out about this?” Souji nodded as he pulled himself out of the booth and stood up. “Thanks. Keep him distracted, keep him from thinking about it, don't let him worry about Shido. Hopefully we can convince him to lay off of spreading Shido's bullshit and maybe even turn some people against him, but...I'm not holding my breath on that one.” Futaba and Souji both nodded again before turning and scurrying out of the cafe. When the bell had fallen silent and the cafe was empty Akira let the tension drain from his shoulders with a soft sigh. Keeping this hidden from Akechi would be almost impossible, but he hoped they would be able to keep it under wraps long enough for their plans to come to fruition.

When Ryuji came by a few hours later Akira immediately lit up. He immediately ran over to pull the blond in for a tight hug as soon as he dropped his bag with both of them giggling uncontrollably. Akira began peppering Ryuji's face with soft little affectionate kisses and muttering gushy nonsense to keep him laughing.

“Aki-chan, c'mon, Boss is right there,” he whispered and tried to push his boyfriend away to no avail. If anything it only made Akira tighten his grip. “Aki-chan!”

“I just wanted you to know that I'm really glad we met,” Akira whispered as he shoved his face into the side of Ryuji's neck. “I'm really glad we're together, too. I love you, Ryuji.” The blush that spread across the blond's face was almost red enough to match the crimson of the shirt that he was wearing. He reached up to carefully set a hand on the back of Akira's head and let his fingers twist around in the thick curls there.

“I love you too, Akira,” he answered back just as quietly. The two stood there for a long while simply swaying back and forth with their arms wrapped around each other and the occasional giggle or soft laugh drifting out from between them. Neither of them wanted to break apart until Sojiro finally walked over, tapped Akira on the shoulder, and cleared his throat.

“You two head on upstairs. I'll bring up some drinks and dinner for you kids later,” he said, and Akira immediately felt his face burn red.

“That...won't be necessary,” he muttered quietly. After clearing his throat he added, “I planned on taking Ryuji out for a date tonight. After we spent a bit playing games upstairs.” While the color of Ryuji's skin began to match Akira's all too well Sojiro smiled fondly and patted Akira on the shoulder gently.

“Good for you kid. You need a bit of extra pocket change for this?” he asked. Akira shook his head and reached up to twirl one of his curls, his eyes fixed firmly on the grain of the wood below him, voice barely above a whisper.

“Minato gave me enough for a nice date for tonight,” he explained. His thumb began rubbing softly along the back of Ryuji's hand gently. The blond's skin was soft, well taken care of. Had he begun using lotion? It seemed like it. A few callouses left rough patches on the underside of his palm and fingers and Akira's fingers couldn't stop passing over them slowly.

“Aki-chan you don't have to. Not you too, Go-chan already dragged me somewhere expensive, I can't pay you guys back,” he whined. Akira's lips curled up as he pressed a kiss to the center of Ryuji's palm, and the amount of affection in those soft gray eyes made his heart stop in his chest.

“You don't have to worry about paying me back, Ryuyu. This is a date. This is something I want to do because I love you. Let me spoil you babe,” he purred. The soft red of Ryuji's skin darkened even more, somehow. Akira chuckled softly and kissed the center of Ryuji's palm again before reaching to grab his bag and pull him upstairs. “Come on. I just got a new game and I wanna break it in with you before we head out.”

“Uhhhh...yeah. Yeah sure,” Ryuji muttered. He stumbled after his boyfriend upstairs on shaky legs. The sudden display of affection, just how romantic that had actually been, shook him up more than he realized. Affection was something he still wasn't used to, any sort of confession of love had him flustered and embarrassed. Both of his boyfriends were so openly love-dovey with each other and even with him...

He couldn't believe just how lucky he'd gotten.

Akira had moved his bed from the corner of the room, thankful for the new frame that Sojiro had gotten him and allowed them a more comfortable sitting position. Ryuji sat curled in Akira's lap, arms wrapped gently around his waist and controller gripped firmly in his hands.

“No Ryuji, you have to keep an eye on the ball. Make sure it doesn't go into our goal, it needs to go into one of the CPU's goals. You can bump it out if you hit-yeah there you go. Watch it, there's one rolling towards your-” The word “FAILED” drop down on screen in bright orange and red, prompting Ryuji to drop the controller into his lap and sigh. “Don't feel bad, the game's old. The controls aren't the best. You got the hang of the pogo level really quick!”

“That's because the computers are dumb. The brawl stage they both just started chargin' at each other 'nd shoved each other into the water at the same time. We didn't have to move,” he answered with a huff. “...The polar bears are cute though.”

“I agree, the polar bears are cute, and I feel so bad that they have such massive jerks riding them and launching them into other bears,” Akira said solemnly. He dropped his own controller down onto the bed beside him and carefully moved Ryuji's to join it. “At least our characters are kind of small and light.”

“Yeah. Least there's that. I think I'm ready for that date you mentioned. I'm gettin' salty,” he muttered while sliding out of Akira's lap. He moved down towards the foot of the bed as Akira grabbed the head of it and began sliding it back across the floor to its original position. From his perch on the window Morgana meowed pitifully, then jumped down to wind himself around Akira's legs in a silent bid for attention. It worked; as soon as the bed had settled into place he reached down to scoop the kitty up into his arms for scritches.

“Can you go get a can of food from downstairs for him? I wanna feed him before we head out, since I'm not sure how long we'll be gone,” Akira muttered as he brought Morgana up for a gentle kiss to his forehead. A quiet chirp sounded in response as Ryuji turned to skip downstairs. An older couple sat in the booth just next to the stairs, with a different couple sitting nearer the door.

“Oh hey Makoto. Hey Haru. Surprised to see you two here,” he said cheerfully as he ducked behind the counter to grab a can of food. Haru's head raised at her name and, upon seeing Ryuji, she waved gently to him in greeting.

“Oh hello Ryuji. Are you here visiting Akira?” she asked. The blond nodded in answer before he dropped down into a squat to continue looking underneath the cabinets. “Feeding Morgana?”

“Yeah. Aki-chan asked me to grab a can, we'll be out late tonight and he doesn't want the runt starving.” Haru giggled, a soft little sound that almost sounded like wind chimes, and carefully set her cup down with a gentle 'clink'. “Yeah I know, we ain't gonna be gone long, but that damn cat's spoiled rotten and acts like he's gonna die if we don't show him enough attention. I don't wanna know what he'd do if he didn't have any food to boot.”

“I don't want to think about it either, he's pretty chatty whenever we come to visit,” Makoto chuckled softly. “Glad to see Akira's gotten out of his funk though. I was starting to worry about him. Do you know what caused it? I...I would have asked sooner, but between the trip and how happy he seemed when he got back, I didn't want to upset him.” Ryuji pulled himself up to set the can of cat food on the counter and leaned against it gently.

“It's fine. He had some pretty bad nightmares before everything went down, he told me he talked to Go-chan about it 'nd that they've stopped. He's doin' a lot better, now. 'm glad it didn't get too serious. I don't think I'm ready to take care of a cat by myself, and I dunno who else Morgana would trust,” he laughed. “Maybe Ann. He seems to curl up just fine in her lap when she's over. If he weren't a cat I'd think he had a thing for her ya know?”

“He's a very handsome kitty, I bet he knows the ladies love him,” Haru teased. “I bet he'd fit right in with us or Ann.” Makoto set her cup down beside Haru's and reached over to tap the back of the brunette's hand.

“Haru, you'll make me jealous of a cat,” she giggled. Beneath the table Haru gave Makoto a gentle tap with her boot and shook her head.

“You don't have to be jealous of a cat. I like you better,” she said, and if Ryuji had any doubts left the very soft pink that colored Makoto's cheeks told him all he needed to know about why the two of them were here. He'd offer them a congrats but the elderly couple still in the cafe made him nervous, so instead he resolved to text them both later and wish them luck in their relationship.

Just before he hit the squeaky step on the stairs he heard Akira's voice drifting across the attic in a soft and gentle timbre.

“I know, I know, you don't like them, but they're my boyfriends. You'll have to get used to them.” What Ryuji could almost place as a condescending meow cut through the gentleness of the air and brought out a chuckle from Akira. “Come on. I'm not asking you to be buddy buddy with them. I just don't want you to fluff your tail every time one of them gets too close to me and you're within twenty feet of me.” The next meow sounded softer, maybe a touch reprimanding. “No, Morgana, I will not tell them to bring you sushi so you like them. Don't think I haven't seen you walk around with some in your mouth before coming here to be fed, I know you're stealing from people with a heart. You little thief.” Ryuji heard the sounds of shuffling, followed by the softest meow he had ever heard that furball make.”You're not cuteing your way out of this one. I'm serious Morgana. Please. I love them both, and I love you. I'm willing to compromise and let you take up half the bed some nights and add an extra ten pounds to my chest on others. The least you can do is be civil to my boyfriends.” When Ryuji heard the sound of Morgana hitting the floor he snickered to himself and stepped up onto the creaky stair.

“Sounds like the cat ain't the only chatty one,” he teased, and watching the color seep into Akira's normally pale face felt like such a wonderful victory to him. “Did you really just have a whole conversation with him?”

“...Yes. I did. Sometimes I just talk to him and bounce ideas off of him. It helps me think. Sometimes I have entire conversations with him because he chewed a hole in the toe of one of my socks and needed to be reprimanded and he kept insisting that the sock attacked him first,” he said with such conviction that Ryuji burst into laughter while Akira pulled his glasses off to clean the lenses and give himself something to do. “I know, it's stupid.”

“Nah man, it's cute. He even meowed back like he knew what you were sayin'. I might almost think he really does understand us,” Ryuji walked over to where Morgana's food bowl sat underneath the window he used to climb in and out of the window as he so pleased and cracked open the can in his hand. Morgana immediately chirruped at him and began winding around his arm in an attempt to get to the food before it could even land in the bowl. “Hey c'mon fatass! You can at least let me get this shit in the bowl for you!”

“No, you're taking too long,” Akira said from beside the bed. “He wants his food now.” Ryuji tapped the can of food to make sure that every little bit had landed in the bowl before standing and turning to fix Akira with a glare he hoped would convey how not amused he was right now. “Oh come on Ryuyu, you said so yourself that it almost seemed like he knew what we were saying. Who's to say he doesn't have his own emotions and cognizant though?”

“You been hangin' around Go-chan too much, I don't know what the hell that word means that you just said,” Ryuji said as he dropped the can into the small little trash can beside the bed. “But uhhhh...I think you're basically sayin' that if he can meow back at us, then there's a chance he might actually understand what's goin' on like a person does.”

“Actually that's...exactly what I meant. I'm proud of you for figuring that out,” Akira said. For a moment Ryuji considered biting back, his brain automatically assuming the remark meant to be a jab at his intelligence, but he quickly realized that Akira was giving him a genuine compliment. The bright smile on his face and the light of his eyes confirmed this and made Ryuji blush yet again. How many times had he gone red tonight? Too many to count, he felt. “Looks like our tutoring really is paying off. I'm happy for you.”

“Thanks. 'm real glad you two insisted on helpin' me out so much. Our study dates are actually really nice.” Ryuji reached over to ruffle Akira's hair and jerked his head towards the stairs. “C'mon. 'm curious as to where you're takin' me for our date now.”

“Not anywhere fancy, so I hope Goro didn't spoil you too much,” Akira teased as he hauled himself off the mattress. His fingers laced carefully with the blond's as they began to head downstairs. “There's a diner that makes some really good food. The atmosphere's really nice too. I've one there to study with Yuuki a few times, and we've both conspired against Yusuke a few times to make sure he actually eats and doesn't starve keeping up his artistic endeavors or feeding his children. Turns out lobsters are actually pretty difficult to take care of seriously as pets. He's got an entire wall devoted to them and I think he spends half of his stipend on stuff for them, then the other half on art supplies.”

“Oh god he actually kept the fuckin' lobsters, I thought you were joking about helping him out,” Ryuji groaned. “I can't believe it. He's actually a damn lobster dad. Guess that comment about meeint' his and Yuuki's sons wasn't wrong, was it?”

“Nope. But Picasso and Van Gogh seem to be doing wonderfully with mine and Yuuki's help,” Akira said, and Ryuji groaned again as they hit the floor of the cafe. “Yes. You expected him to name them something normal?”

“Honestly _no_ but I kinda hoped,” he grumbled. Akira's grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly as they left the cafe, offering a quick wave to Sojiro as they left, and began making their way down the street. He kept his fingers laced with Akira's and listened to him rambling about his day, the issues he's been having at school, all of it, with the biggest and brightest smile on his face.

Akira stole a glance back at him, and all he could think was that Ryuji smiling could overpower the sun and light up the night. He vowed to take solace in the quiet moments like this before the storm on the horizon overtook them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/LilPudPud)


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. I'm really sorry for the erratic as hell update schedule. I don't mean for this to happen LOL. I promise things are gonna be more consistent now, I _promise_.  
>  Also hey. Surprise update because I just got this finished and I feel bad for spending so long between chapters.

“...other news, the poll numbers have come in and so far, Shido Masayoshi is ahead in popularity by a full twenty-five percent. It looks to be a clean election, thanks in no small part to the Second Detective Prince, Akechi Goro, spearheading his campaign and spreading word of his accomplishments and pushing for his election with all pistons firing.”

“Turn that shit off,” Akechi hissed before clearing his throat and offering a quiet, “Please, Boss.” The TV clicked off, the remote settling onto the counter with a gentle clack of plastic against wood. Sojiro came to a stop in front of him and waited without saying a word. It was obvious that something was bothering the kid, and he was more than happy to lend an ear when needed. As Akechi nursed his cup of coffee the cafe fell silent.

“...Forgive me. His voice is just grating to me, I've heard it so many times. We've spoken in private and he's...much more forceful than he is in public,” he said quickly. He carefully pried his gloves off and set them down on the wood beside the cup and let out a soft sigh. “I'm very sorry for being so forceful with that, I'm just tired.”

“No need to apologize. Don't really think I can blame you. I've only seen him on TV but something about that guy just...rubs me the wrong way, ya know?” Sojiro said while reaching up to scratch the side of his neck. “I don't see how people can like him. Uh, probably shouldn't say that with you sitting there, I-”

“No it's fine. I can't change everyone's opinion of him,” Akechi whispered. After clearing his throat he shuffled his jacket off and set it on the stool beside him. “I'm only meant to influence the people I can. Nothing more. The work I've done, I feel, is more than enough to make him happy.” Sojiro set another cup in front of him, and Akechi raised his head from his internal musings. This wasn't a cup of coffee, but instead hot chocolate. “Ah, I didn't...”

“You need it right now. Coffee's only gonna agitate you. That'll help you calm down and feel better. The other two will be back from school pretty soon. Why don't the three of you head out for a little bit? You look like you could sleep for a week. I know you're busy with all that damn detective work of yours but you need to take time out to just relax from time to time. When was the last time you took an actual day off?” Akechi proceeded to stare directly into the cup of hot chocolate and absolutely refused to acknowledge the question proposed to him. “You're gonna run yourself into the ground at this rate, you know.”

“Once the elections are over I'll be able to relax. I've been so busy with all of that lately that I haven't had much time for anything. I'm afraid that I've even been a bit neglectful towards Akira and Ryuyu as of late. I think I should take your advice and spend the day with them,” he said thoughtfully. His phone vibrated in his pocket, which brought a nasty scowl to his face; when he pulled it out of his pocket he felt his stomach drop.

He didn't want to talk to Shido. He didn't want to discuss campaign strategies or be whisked away from a rare day off. For once he wanted to be a simple high school student, in his final year, hopelessly in love and curled up with his boyfriend(s) beside him. To share soft kisses and softer caresses and whisper-quiet 'I love you's' in the most comforting space in the world. He could have that, couldn't he? It was right there, the possibility stared him in the face, he just needed to reach for it...

His thumb slid up to the power button. Could he really do this?

...He pressed down on the button until the shut-down prompt appeared on screen. His thumb hovered nervously over the little red mark, the only thing standing between him and a better day. Between him and the day he wanted.

The moment his thumb connected with the screen he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and calmly walked over to the small trash can nearby to drop it inside. When Sojiro gave him an odd look he simply offered a smile in response.

“It was old, and I've been meaning to replace it anyway. I've had so many rabid fangirls get that number and harass me, I barely have any peace and quiet. I'll make sure that this number is much harder to find. Perhaps Futaba would be willing to assist me.” He slid back into his seat, hands curling around the cup of now warm chocolate, and let out a content sigh.

Today would be good. He'd made sure of it now.

As Akechi found out half an hour later, Ryuji had not decided to come to Leblanc with Akira this time. Apparently Ann had wanted his opinion on something and insisted he head to her place instead, which meant that only Akira walked through the door to greet Akechi.

“Honey, I'm home,” he said with a crooked smile and a warmth in his voice that swept Akechi off his feet and made his heart beat painfully in his chest and his breath catch in his throat. Before he could stop himself he was grinning from ear to ear and resting his chin in his palm.

“You're late,” he said back with an equally crooked grin, which prompted both of them to devolve into soft little giggles. “Is Ryuyu not with you?”

“Nah. Ann said she needed him for something, so he's with her. We won't see him until at least tomorrow,” he said as he walked over to plant a kiss on the corner of Akechi's lips. There was a chirp at his feet and without looking down he squatted to begin running a hand along Morgana's side. “I guess it's just us. I'm surprised you're not up to your eyeballs in paperwork though.”

“I decided to take the entire day off completely. No paperwork, no deadlines, nothing. Just a simple high school student de-stressing after a round of tests,” he answered. “Would you like to go out and see a movie? My treat. There's a new slasher film that I'm interested in checking out and wanted to see if you would like to accompany me.” After giving Morgana a few more soft little pets Akira hauled himself back up to his feet and set a hand on the small of Akechi's back.

“Yeah, sure. Just let me head upstairs and get changed, then we can head out.” He left another chase kiss on the brunette's cheek before scooping his bag and the cat up in his arms to carry them up into his room. Akechi was greeted with the sight of Sojiro grinning from ear to ear at him as he turned back towards the counter.

“Glad to see you're taking my advice seriously,” he hummed. Akechi felt his lips curl up a bit as he moved to finish his cup of coffee. “Never pegged you as the type to enjoy cheesy horror movies like that though.” Akechi laughed, a soft little peal, and hid his smile behind the rim of his coffee cup.

“I know, it's a guilty pleasure of mine. It lets me turn my brain off for a little bit, to simply watch gratuitous violence, you know? Ah, that probably sounds strange coming from me...I'm not sure how to explain it properly,” he admitted. Sojiro simply waved him off and grabbed the crossword puzzle from the corner of the counter while Akechi fished out a few bills from his wallet to pay for his vices.

“Nah. I think a lot of people are the same way.” He slowly hauled himself into his seat as Akira hopped down the stairs two at a time in far more casual clothes. “Hope you two enjoy your da-hey, these have all been done!” Akira latched his hand onto Akechi's wrist and pulled him off the seat as he began running towards the door to the cafe.

“I'll make it up to you Boss I'm sorry I got bored!” The bell over the door jingled violently as it swung open then closed, leaving a slightly frustrated but highly amused Sojiro watching the pair turn the corner out of sight. He shook his head slowly from side to side before dropping the crossword back onto the counter instead.

“Little brat...”

 

Akechi honestly had no clue what the hell was happening on screen. The last thing he remembered actually seeing was a couple hooking up in the back of a car, and then the next thing he knew he'd dug his fingers into Akira's hair and had been kissing him for the better part of thirty minutes. Originally he'd been a little upset that Akira had chosen a spot so far away from the screen but now he was absolutely grateful for the added privacy of their secluded spot. Fewer prying eyes to see him in such a compromising position.

It took every ounce of willpower in him not to moan when Akira's hand settled on the front of his pants.

“N-not here...kissing is bad enough, I don't want to get caught with your hand on my dick,” he whispered, voice hoarse from arousal. Akira's eyes shined brightly at that, hand sliding slowly along the curve of Akechi's cock with enough pressure to send a shiver down his spine. “Akira...”

“I love how vulgar you get when you're horny...fuck, you sure you don't want me to jerk you off right now? Nobody would know it was you that left a mess back here. We could move, pretend we don't know anything. You'd have to bite something though, you get loud when I've got my hands on you. You don't want people to hear you when you cum right?” Akira's fingers slid up to find the zipper of Akechi's pants to toy with it a bit. Even in the darkness the color in Akechi's face stood out, the lust in his eyes shining even brighter.

“Akira...Akira please, stop...” The hand on his crotch stilled, and the barest hint of a whimper slipped from his lips. They lidded slightly; his lips glistened with spit, red and angry from being chewed.

“Do you really want me to stop?” Akira asked. Akechi's mouth opened and closed a few times in thought before his eyes fluttered closed and he let out a soft, stuttered exhale.

“...No.” With that Akira's hands dipped into Akechi's boxers to grasp at his cock and tug it, causing Akechi's hips to jerk forward and pulling another little whine out. He started up a slow pace, content to simply tease instead of properly pleasure, and watched with sadistic interest as Akechi shoved his face into the corner of his boyfriend's neck.

Akechi's fingers dropped down to fist into the front of Akira's shirt and pull as he rocked his hips up into Akira's grip. When is thumb slid across the sensitive slit at the top he choked back a moan and bit into the meat of the shoulder he was pressed against. The hiss in his ear sent a bit of a thrill down his spine. He wasn't the only one getting worked up from this. Part of him thought it seemed a little rude to not return the favor, and so his hand drifted over to palm at the front of Akira's pants as well-

A sense of sudden urgency had Akira moving his hand to ease Akechi back into his pants. With a confused whine he pulled away to question Akira why he had stopped when he saw someone coming towards them in the dark. Someone with blond hair and brown eyes.

“Aki-chan? Go-chan?” Akira turned to Ryuji and flashed a calm smile as he eased Akechi's zipper back into place.

“Hey Ryuyu. I thought you were out with Ann?” he asked. Somehow he had managed to get the huskiness out of his voice; the only evidence of their activities that remained was the stickiness on his palm and the faint bite mark poking out of the neck of his shirt that only Akechi could see.

“I am, but we decided to come here and take a break. Wouldn't have noticed you guys were here if she hadn't seen you two makin' out,” he teased, and Akechi somehow managed to turn even redder. “You okay Go-chan? You ain't scared or anything, are you? You're shakin' pretty bad.”

“No, I'm fine,” Akechi whispered. He cleared his throat and pushed himself away from Akira. As carefully as he could he crossed his legs to hide his hard-on. “I'm afraid I simply got a little too into kissing Akira, is all. I'm still not used to things like this.” Ryuji settled down in the seat beside Akira, a little toothy grin spread on his face.

“Look at you, makin' out in the back of a movie theater. I thought this was too proper for you or somethin',” he teased. Akechi's mind helpfully supplied that they were doing more than just making out, but his mouth wisely decided to keep shut. “Hope I didn't kill the mood or nothin'. Just wanted to come see you guys is, all. How are you enjoyin' the movie?”

“Pretty mind numbing, but I guess that's the point of it. Perfect excuse to just ignore everyone else and make out like hormonal teenagers. Which we are,” Akira pointed out with a little bit of a chuckle at the end and a knowing glance at Akechi. Ryuji brought a hand up and swatted at Akira's shoulder before threading his fingers into the back of thick curly black hair.

“Well I'm not sure it's fair that Go-chan's the only that gets to make out with you in the back of a theater,” Ryuji said. Before they could press their lips together though Akechi suddenly jerked forward.

“Ryuyu if Ann saw me then there's no telling how many people did. Shit, this isn't good, if word gets out-”

“Dude calm down, it's _fine_. Literally the only reason she knew it was you two was because she saw Aki-chan's hair when some lightnin' flashed on screen. Dude, you two were really into it,” he laughed. Akechi's eyes flickered down in embarrassment as he leaned back in his seat and propped his chin in his hand.

“I suppose you have a point,” he grumbled. Movement out of the corner of his eye him him flicking his eyes over to see Ryuji pulling Akira in for a heated kiss. He felt himself smile warmly and brought a hand up over his mouth to hide his smile. To see Ryuji so comfortable with Akira finally, to see them kissing like this when the memory of Hawaii from not even two months ago still fresh on his mind, made him so goddamn ecstatic. From what he could see Ryuji was even smiling into the kisses and trying not to giggle every time they broke apart.

Akira's hand reached over to take Akechi's and squeeze it gently before lacing their fingers together. The brunette smiled and brought his hand up to slowly kiss across his knuckles affectionately. Each little press of lips was followed with a quiet “I love you” and a soft chuckle from Akira when he could separate his lips from Ryuji's.

Akechi happened to notice the ending of the movie coming up and gently tapped the back of Akira's hand.

“The movie's ending dear, I'd suggest cutting your make-out session short,” he whispered directly in Akira's ear before nipping at it gently. Akira somehow managed to keep himself from moaning, but as he pulled away he shot a glare at Akechi before smirking and leaning over to whisper back in his ear.

“You and I are going to head into the bathroom and I'm going to blow you until you can't fucking stand.” Akechi squirmed just a bit in his seat and took a calming breath as the lights came back on and people began filing out. As Akechi stood from his seat a few gasps from the front of the theater had his stomach dropping out. Oh _god_ not more fans.

“Oh my god it's Akechi!”

“I didn't realize he was here! Akechi~!”

“I think the two of you should go ahead. I have a feeling I'll be a while,” Akechi sighed softly. For a split second Akechi looked like he was trying to keep from losing the popcorn he and Akira had been sharing. The next second he looked like the perfectly approachable Detective Prince he was on television. Ryuji gently tugged Akira's wrist and shot him a shy smile.

“C'mon. I dunno how long I'll get with you before Ann wants to find me and split,” he said as they slipped off into the lobby together. They settled off into a back corner out of sight from the rest of lobby and let their hands slide together properly.

“Who woulda known I'd run into you two at a movie theater,” Ryuji laughed. Akira did as well before he leaned down to kiss the tip of Ryuji's nose, which brought a gentle flush to his entire face.

“What are the odds, I know. But I'm really glad you did. Have I ever told you how good of a kisser you are?” he said with a little crooked smile. “That candy you were chewing on tastes good. Mind sharing it with me again?” Ryuji playfully smacked his hand into Akira's face to shove it away before laughing and threading his fingers into Akira's hair.

“You sure you're okay with that? What if someone sees us?” he asked. Akira snorted and leaned down to brush his lips against the corner of Ryuji's.

“I couldn't care less. We're already branded as delinquents, may as well enjoy ourselves,” he said before properly kissing Ryuji. The blond ended up with his back to the wall and Akira standing between him and the rest of the lobby to give them just a bit more privacy. Whatever candy Ryuji had been eating during the movie was fruit flavored, and at the forefront was the taste of cherries of all things. He wondered if he could still tie a cherry stem with just his tongue...

Someone intentionally kicked the back of his shoe, and without hesitation he turned his head to snap at whoever had decided to bother the two of them. His retort died on his tongue as he saw who it was though.

“Glad to see you're getting into the spirit of coming to the movies with your boyfriend, but maybe I could steal him back for a few more hours?” Ann asked with a small smirk. With a bit of a pout and a lot of reluctance Akira pulled away and began smoothing Ryuji's clothes back into place. The both of them were red faced and panting just a bit, which Ann found absolutely adorable and hilarious at the same time.

“Yeah, sure. Uhhhh, sorry Aki-chan. You gonna be fine on your own?”

“Yeah, I'll be fine. No big deal. I'll just wait here for Goro. I know he said he'd be a while, but...” Akira shrugged and brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I don't feel right just ditching him. You two go on ahead.” Ryuji pulled him forward to kiss him sweetly and scratched just behind his right ear for a few seconds.

“Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too. See you when you're free.” The blond pulled away with a warm and loving smile before following the other blond out of the theater. Once he was alone Akira let out a quiet sigh and pressed his back against the wall where he had just pinned Ryuji. The warmth had lingered just a bit, and he found himself pressing a hand against it without meaning to. Just the barest hint of artificial cherry lingered on his tongue. Licking his lips provided a fresh burst of flavor.

He wasn't sure how long he was standing there waiting, just knew that he'd gotten offers from both Makoto and Haru to accompany them on a double date when he saw a flash of tan out of the corner of his eyes. It was enough to make him raise his head and notice Akechi walking towards him looking dead tired and drained with a weak smile on his lips.

“Ah...I didn't expect you to wait for me. Thank you. Do you mind if we go somewhere private? Perhaps to my apartment?” he asked. While normally Akira would have made some sort of perverted joke at Akechi's expense he realized something really wasn't right with him this time and kept the quip to himself in lieu of nodding and taking Akechi's hand to hold. He squeezed it gently as they walked off together and felt his heart flutter when Akechi squeezed back.

“Is everything okay babe? You seem a little tense.” Akechi let his lips curl up in a smile that might have fooled the cameras but not his boyfriend. Not someone who knew the little quirks and tells that gave his emotions away. Things he'd picked up from their time together.

“Everything is fine. My talk with those fans simply drained me. Spending some time with you will help set me straight again,” he answered, sugar-sweet in his reply and movements. Akira tugged the hand he held and glared slightly. That seemed to be enough to convince Akechi to drop his act, surprisingly enoygh. “...I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you about things, Akira. There are things I've neglected to tell you. That perhaps I should finally let you know, as it's begun to affect my life far more than I would like it to. Perhaps...you would be able to help me finally get things taken care of. This is something I need to speak to you about in private however. There's ears everywhere else. Let's go to my apartment.” They came to a stop at a corner, and a gentle scowl settled on his features. “...Actually, there's a chance there's even ears there.”

“I can promise you there's no way anyone can snoop in on us at my place. The whole place is covered. If it's really that bad, then we can sit there and talk. I want to help, you know this. I love you.” Akira's thumb ran across the back of Akechi's hand, and the last little bit of his resolve broke away. The light in his eyes said more than enough.

“...Right. Let's go, dear.” Akira's nose brushed softly against Akechi's cheek before beginning to pull him along down the street.

He wasn't stupid. He knew Shido was the one behind Akechi's torment, he knew that bastard was breathing down Akechi's neck and harassing him. The plans had been laid out already to end Shido's life and now all he needed to do was wait for the right time to end it. Would Akechi finally have peace? Would he finally be able to life his life the way he wanted instead of the way his father did? That's what he wanted. That's all he wanted, was for his boyfriends to be happy and loved. If he could do even one little thing to help then he would.

They stepped into Leblanc just as a downpour began, barely managing to avoid getting soaked. A rumble of thunder shook the building and made Sojiro lift his head up in concern.

“Damn...it's getting closer to winter, I thought for sure these storms would have stopped. Guess not. Just my damn luck. You two need anything to drink? I've got some hot chocolate for you guys if you need it,” he offered.

“That would be great, actually. Akechi's pretty upset. We're heading upstairs to talk for a bit and see if that helps,” Akira said quietly. Sojiro glanced over at him, then over to Akechi, and nodded firmly. With a wave of his hands directing the pair upstairs he reached under the counter to pull up two large mugs to set on the dark wood. Akechi allowed himself to be pulled upstairs and gently coaxed into sitting on the bed, which now had a proper frame, and let both of his hands slide into Akira's to hold. A fresh boom of thunder rattled the window as the rain pattered against the glass in a gently soothing rhythm.

“I-”

“Don't talk. Not until we've gotten our hot chocolate, alright? It will help you relax. You need it. Don't think for a little bit. Look, you wanna pet Morgana? I just brushed him this morning, his fur is extra soft today.” Akechi slid his gloves off of his hand, which Akira took as a sign that he wanted the little furball. He scooped Morgana up out of his little bed, a quiet chirp of protest sounding from him, and carefully set him down in the brunette's lap where he immediately curled up and began to purr with each slow pass of his hand across the cat's flank. Akira pulled away slowly and made his way downstairs to collect the two mugs of hot chocolate from Sojiro to bring them upstairs.

Akechi gratefully accepted the mug, resting his hands against the warm porcelain and letting it seep into his bones. Akira settled in gently at his side, taking a sip of his drink that left a white line across his upper lip. When he noticed Akechi staring at him in confusion he laughed softly and swiped his tongue across the residue.

“White chocolate,” he whispered. “I hope you don't mind dark. The white is just for me, I'm the only one that likes it.” Akechi chuckled softly and took a slow drink from his mug. The warmth and comfort spread through him, settled in his gut and spread outwards to ease the tension from his body and let his mind shut off for a bit. They struck up a quiet conversation pointedly avoiding any heavy topics, instead focusing on easy ones such as schoolwork or their relationship or even Morgana's antics. Anything to help Akechi calm down from whatever had upset him earlier.

Neither one of them noticed they'd finished off their drinks until hey both took sips and realized their cups were empty.

“Oh. How long have we been talking? What time is it, I need to head back soon I think,” Akechi muttered as he moved Morgana out of his lap. The cat offered a tiny squeak in response but seemed more than content to simply curl back up in his spot and drift back off to sleep. Before he could stand a hand pressed into his shoulder to keep him pinned in his spot. His face scrunched up in confusion before he tried to stand up again but found himself pushed back down against the bed again. “Akira, I-”

“We still need to talk. Remember? Let me take these downstairs. You want some coffee? I don't think we'll be sleeping anytime soon and I don't think Boss would mind you staying the night.” Akechi opened his mouth in protest before closing it and sighing in defeat. Most likely neither of them would be getting any sleep any time soon, and the extra stimulation would help keep him coherent. Akira brushed his lips across Akechi's forehead before taking the mug from his hand and slipping off downstairs.

The brunette slowly slid backwards on the bed to lay down on it and promptly shoved his face into Morgana's fur. His fingers continued to slide through the short black fur slowly, the gentle purring doing even more to help calm him down. His eyes slipped closed slowly and found himself growing steadily more grateful for having someone so understanding. Whatever he had done for the universe to decide he deserved someone like Akira, he was so, so grateful for the opportunity.

Sometime later the sound of footsteps and a gentle hand running through his hair prompted him to crack open a single red eye that blearily settled on the vaguely Akira-shaped object standing in front of him. The corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly as he slowly pulled himself up to sit properly on the bed.

“I almost feel bad for waking you up now,” Akiar whispered. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Akechi's forehead before sitting down beside him and taking his hand to hold gently. “You looked so peaceful cuddling Morgana..” A pretty flush raised up the brunette's face as he set his head carefully on Akira's shoulder.

“Shush.” One of Akira's hands had settled close enough to one of Akechi's that he could simply extend a finger and curl two of them together, so he did. “...I suppose I should tell you what's had me upset all day.”

“You don't have to if you don't want to,” Akira whispered. His free hand raised to begin threading through soft brown locks gingerly. “I don't want you to push yourself, you know this.”

“This is necessary. Because I have a request to go along with it,” Akechi answered. His eyes turned down to the floor to stare holes into the dark wood. At the back of his throat a tension had built up that seemed to try and choke him. “...I suppose that, perhaps, I should start from the beginning. You need to understand my past to know the present.”

Outside the rain picked up again and beat against the window in thick sheets. The sounds of Sojiro downstairs closing up the cafe for the day echoed in the tiny but still-cluttered room. Morgana purred beside Akechi.

“When I was younger, I lived with my mother. My father wasn't in the picture. He disappeared as soon as he found out my mother was pregnant with me. When she had me she moved somewhere quiet and out of the way. Completely alone. That didn't last long. So we moved when I was about six.” He began easing his coat off to carefully fold it up and set it on the chair nearby. “That's where I met Ryuyu. His father would beat him, so he would come to our apartment a lot to hide out. Stay away from him. We became fast friends because of it.” One of his legs raised up to fall over the other and his hands settled together firmly in his lap.

“I always wondered how a stuck-up brat like you made friends with someone like Ryuyu,” Akira teased, and Akechi reached up to swat him gently with a low laugh. The hand in his hair sent almost constant shudders through his whole body. Admittedly it made him hard pressed to build that tension that had dug its way into his bones for months now. “Sorry. Keep going.”

“Don't apologize, it's nice that you're trying to help keep me calm,” he muttered slowly. He let his nose brush against Akira's softly before he pulled away and set his head onto Akira's chest. “But, back to my story. My mother and Ryuyu's mother were good friends as well. I lived there for two years, and was friends with Ryuyu for a year and a half before my mother...got tired.” Akira let his arm drop to wrap carefully around Akechi's waist to hold him close and push his face into his boyfriend's hair. “She tried her best to take care of me. She really did. But she was just a single mother. The stigma was too much...she shot herself. And left me alone.”

“I'm so sorry Goro...” Akira shoved his lips roughly against Akechi's hair and closed his eyes tight to fight back tears. “I'm so sorry, I...” Akechi brought Akira's hand up from his waist to kiss it and felt his lips curl up a little bit.

“Don't apologize. It made me the person I am today, after all.” There was a weak chuckle at that. “Turned me into a serial killer, but I'm doing good, at least. I'm only slightly vindictive. I haven't murdered the foster families I lived with that abused me until Shido took me in.” He leaned back a little bit to force Akira to lean against the wall behind him so he could settle in between his boyfriend's legs to rest his head on his shoulder.

“Shido...that politician, right? He took you in? Why?” He had to play dumb, he had to pretend Futaba hadn't told him about his plan and that he had every intention and even planned on killing Shido for him to keep his hands clean. Akechi's response was to hum and begin picking at a loose thread in Akira's sheets. They needed to be replaced soon.

“Shido's my father,” he said, and Akira's hitching breath was believable enough that he continued. “When I was eleven, he took me back in. He didn't really care about me, he just wanted to use my existence and my mother's suicide to gain sympathy. He expected me to behave and be grateful that he even acknowledged my existence. Instead I caused trouble for him. When I was thirteen I ran away for two months and made friends with Seta-senpai and his family. When I moved back Shido kicked me out and expected me to be able to take care of myself somehow by the time I was sixteen. Seta-senpai helped me out with getting a job, and he taught me how to kill, and...the rest is history.” By this point Akira had begun rubbing his hand along the back of Akechi's neck affectionately.

“I'm sorry. Fuck that sounds awful...” Akechi gently tapped the back of his hand against Akira's face with a little bit of a smile.

“Don't apologize about that. But that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said as he straightened up off of Akira. He carefully turned around to straddle his lap and laced his arms around the other's neck. “And no, this isn't a sexual request.” His eyes lidded a bit, eyes flickering down to stare at Akira's chest firmly. “...I want your help murdering Shido.”

“You want my help killing your father? I know he's a politician and...I know he's done some bad things to you, but is killing him really a good idea?”

“Of course it is. This isn't personal anymore, this is for the future of the country. He's corrupt and is going to destroy this country if he gets his way and becomes prime minister. He needs to be stopped, and soon,” he insisted. Akira's hands dropped down to settle gently on Akechi's hips to gently rub his thumbs along the sharp lines. There was a tense silence hanging in the air as Akira seemed to contemplate his answer.

“Alright. I'll help you out,” he finally said. He gently tugged Akechi closer until their hips were flush together and gave him a warm smile. “We can start planning tomorrow, though. For now I just want to spend some quality time with you alright?” They both began laughing and pressed their lips together in a gentle and loving kiss.

 

Later, when Akira got a message from Ryuji asking if they could talk in person, Akira reluctantly pulled himself away from Akechi's warm body to pull some clothes on and meet him outside to go for a walk together. When Ryuji asked his question with a waver in his voice and his hands twisting together nervously, and Akira offered him a warm “Go ahead,” Ryuji's smile shined bright for a split second before he threw himself into his boyfriend's chest in a tight bear hug. He'd need to get his own sheets for Yuuki's bed now, and...maybe somehow sneak into that one shop he saw in Shinjuku across from that one bar.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember when I promised you guys consistency? That was before I got sick as a fucking _dog_. I'm soooooo sorry this took so long. Hopefully nothing comes up again?  
>  (Also if I'd actually uploaded this on time it would have been the day after my birthday FSDHJFKSDH.)

Akechi tapped away on his phone as he waited for his companion to show up. Makoto had convinced him to pick up some sort of mobile rhythm game, and he found the songs were actually fairly catchy and maybe even something he would regularly listen to when he wasn't playing. He was scrolling through the song list to see which one he would play next when the hairs on the side of his head began to stand up like someone was staring at him. Normally he wouldn't have that response, but whoever it was stood far too close to him. Instead of turning to give whoever it was the time of day as he normally would he instead pulled the headphone on his left side out and sighed.

“I don't mean to be rude, but I'm waiting for someone. Is there some way I can help you?” he asked, voice muffled by the face mask he wore to hide his face and yet still fully expecting to hear another one of his adoring fans gush about how smart he is and how handsome and if they could please get him to sign some bag or something for them.

“Yeah, you can stop looking at your phone so we can go.” Akechi turned to see Minato standing beside him with the same perpetually bored expression he always carried and a small hair clip pinning his hair out of his face. The fact that he could actually see both of Minato's eyes gave the brunette pause. “Oh. Souji gave it to me the last time we hung out. He said I shouldn't hide my eyes, because they're pretty.”

“I always forget how close you two are,” Akechi admitted as he pulled the other earbud out. He carefully wrapped his headphones around his phone and tucked it into the pocket of his coat before turning to face Minato properly. “So. Where are we going today, Arisato?”

“One of these days I'll get you to actually call me Minato,” he grumbled to himself as he fished a pair of gloves out to yank onto his hands. “But to answer your question, I need help getting your boyfriend something for Christmas, and I don't wanna wait until the last minute to get him something.”

“I hardly think you need my opinion on Akira's present, Arisato. You've known him longer than I have.”

“I don't mean Akira. I mean Ryuji. Akira's completely clueless about these kinds of things, so he told me to bring you along to go shopping for it.” Minato readjusted the bright yellow scarf around his neck and turned to look woefully at the stairs leading up out of the station. “He's a gamer, isn't he?”

“Wait, so Akira is wanting us to get his Christmas present to Ryuji? That seems...uncaring,” Akechi huffed with a gentle frown. Minato shook his head from side to side and pulled his own phone out to glance at the screen.

“No, you're helping me get him my present. Akira has his picked out already,” he answered. A very soft smile spread across his features before he tucked his phone away again. “There's a place nearby that sells lots of gaming stuff, maybe we could find something there.”

“You've only met Ryuyu...twice? Why would you get him a Christmas present?” he asked. The two months he'd spent living with Dojima and Souji and Nanako had let them all get close to him, see him with his walls down and his defenses torn asunder. Minato had only met Ryuji twice in passing, both times offering a quick hello and a brief conversation before either retreating upstairs to Akira's room or slipping out the door to hurry back home late at night when he needed to be home instead of elsewhere.

“Because he's your boyfriend. Akira's too. Souji's getting him one too, whenever he gets a break to go shopping again. Come on, we need to hurry, it's too cold and I want hot chocolate,” Minato said as he turned heel and made his way towards the stairs. Akechi hesitated a brief moment before following after him.

“Arisato, I-”

“Look, if you're not gonna call me Minato then I'm just gonna stop responding to whatever you say to me, because I don't like people I'm close to calling me by my family name,” he said firmly. “You're Souji's student and basically a little brother to him, and you're Akira's boyfriend. You're practically family to me, so cut the formalities.” Even with both eyes exposed his glare remained sharp and pointed and got the point across to Akechi fairly easily. Before the brunette offered a reply he continued. “I know you've made it a point to keep yourself distanced from the people around you, but that's only going to hurt you more in the long run.”

Akechi watched him as they walked along the street, the firm but gentle words from Minato bouncing around in the back of his skull. Did he really push people away without trying? He'd happily accepted Ryuji back into his life with open arms and unbridled excitement, after all. That couldn't be true, could it?

Of course it could. He tried to push Souji and Dojima and Nanako away when he stayed with them, constantly apologizing and promising he wouldn't be there long and saying they wouldn't have to worry about him once he left. He never got along with any of his foster families later on, when they all butted heads with him and he began lashing out just to prove a point. Hell, in a way he tried to push Akira away before they started fucking by only maintaining the smallest amount of civility with him. All of Akira's friends aside from Makoto seemed hesitant and nervous around him and never really made any attempt to get closer because he usually met those attempts with bullheaded resistance.

He watched how easily Ryuji accepted people into his life and realized he felt envious. Even after losing Akechi, his mother, his father, even after Kamoshida shattered his leg and abused him for almost a year, he still trusted people around him and made friends easily. His bubbly personality certainly helped, but there was just some sort of charm about him that Akechi didn't have that made him approachable.

“Didn't realize I hit the nail that hard on the head.” Minato's voice cut through the static filtering through Akechi's brain and brought him back to his body. After blinking a bit of the fog away he realized they were standing at the entrance to a very nice store that Akechi had passed by a few times and wanted to check out but never got around to it.

“My...my apologies, I didn't mean to zone out like that,” Akechi muttered. He offered a smile but felt it falter almost immediately. “You asked me here to help you with Ryuyu's Christmas present, we should hurry. You said it's too cold.”

“We can put off the Christmas shopping for another day. We've still got a couple of weeks,” Minato said quietly. “Let's go to my place for a little bit, yeah? I've got some hot chocolate mix and-”

The TV's spread around the square and even the ones in the display window of the shop they stood in front of suddenly blanked out all at once, raising a cry of alarm and confusion from the random citizens surrounding them. Akechi's face twisted in concern, while Minato's dropped down.

“I wish he would have done it sooner, elections are tomorrow after all...did he have to wait so damn long?” he huffed. Akechi turned to him just as a bright red image flashed across the screens; a white and red joker playing card with a stylized black and white fool sitting atop the card with one knee hiked up over the other. Understanding slowly filled his eyes, causing them to twist up in anger.

“What the _hell_ Akira!?” he spat. The screens flickered again to what was (hopefully) the image of Akira sitting in a heavy wooden chair, mimicking the fool from the playing card just a few moments ago and smirking.

“Shining emperor to be, I shall snatch your crown from your grasp and reveal the tyrant's heart within you. Your countless sins shall come forth, and before the golden dawn they shall never be erased again. Let the ghosts of your victims stand witness; this _judgment_ has been cast.” His legs uncrossed as he leaned forward, the barest hint of teeth flashing between his lips. “As a politician it is your place to speak for the people you represent, and to do so in a fashion that puts our country in a positive light. The means that you used to climb your way to where you are now, the underhanded tactics and back alley deals, mean you are unfit to serve as prime minister. Your selfish and misguided reasons for taking the seat will be played for the world to see just what kind of person you truly are. By midnight tonight I will have your heart out on display, to show just how black and rotted it truly is. I look forward to having you in my chair, Shido Masayoshi.”

The playing card from before flashed up on screen again, now soaked in blood, the fool brandishing a scythe and a wicked, malicious, crimson smile with matching red eyes. The image stayed on-screen for a few brief seconds before flashing away to black, then switched back to the normal programming that had been running before. The TV's near Minato and Akechi had been playing a news program, and immediately the newscasters began frantically scrambling to report on the calling card that had just been issued for Shido Masayoshi.

“You should probably hurry and catch up to Akira. You're helping him now, right? Do you have a costume put together? A mask? Please tell me you're prepared for this,” Minato muttered lowly. He fished his phone out to give himself an excuse to continue avoiding eye contact with Akechi. “Have you worked on your voice? Is it good enough that it'll be hard to recognize it's you? What about the possibility of you getting called to the station?”

“I told Sae that I was too sick to come into work a few days ago. I can ignore my phone and claim that I took some sleeping medication. I called Ryuyu earlier today and told him I may visit him later tonight if I've gotten better. Mishima is staying the night with Kitagawa and his parents are visiting relatives for a few days. I do have a costume, I do have a mask, and I have been working on my voice. I do, however, need to go, so I'll be seeing you later Minato,” he said and turned to scurry off as quickly as he could. Minato's head tilted every so slightly even as a little smile curled his lips.

“...Huh. He actually called me Minato.”

 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Akira hauled Shido up onto his back and turned to Akechi, who was tapping away on his phone in a conversation with who Akira assumed was Futaba. “What if they see through it? What if we still get caught? Your reputation will be shot and we'll both be in prison.”

“It's not like you to worry about getting caught, Akira. You're usually so calm and collected. Do you always have these sorts of thoughts before a confession?” Akechi teased with a crooked smile as he slid his phone back into the pocket of his costume. “Don't worry. I've covered all of our bases, as has Minato. There's no chance of us getting caught, I assure you. We only need to hurry so we don't run the risk of the police coming here.”

“What are you talking about, there's two police offers standing right here,” Souji said with a small smile, and Akechi rolled his eyes. “Sorry. Couldn't help myself~ You two got a clear shot to the warehouse?”

“Clear as we could hope, yeah.” Akira shifted Shido's unconscious body around in his grip and grunted quietly. “We can't give you something to cushion your head with, unfortunately. Hopefully you won't hit anything too hard on your way down.”

“Nah, I'll be fine. I've got a thick skull. Minato said so.” Souji crossed his arms as Akechi fished a thick cloth and a small bottle out of a different pocket from his phone. “I'll have a headache, but that'll just make ti more believable that I don't remember anything. Can't remember anything after a blow to the head.”

“That's only an acceptable excuse when you hit your head pretty hard. A short fall like this won't do anything,” Akechi explained. After a moment he smirked and added, “Well...except give you a headache. Ready Seta-senpai?” He received a thumbs up in answer, and then Akechi was sliding around behind him.

“Who would have thought that one day I'd be directly helping you kill someone like this?” he laughed before Akechi covered his face with the rag. “Good luck you two. You're gonna need it.” He could hear Akechi and Akira having some sort of conversation behind him but the lightheaded feeling he knew would be coming was already beginning to kick in. Everything began swimming and brought him to his knees painfully hard. He would have bruises there when he woke up he knew. Oh well. Minato would kiss them and make them feel better.

When he finally blacked out Akechi pulled away from him and tucked everything into his pockets, then turned to see Akira straining just a bit underneath Shido's weight. It seemed he was heavier than Akechi gave him credit for. Without a word he stepped over and took some of their victim's weight to ease Akira's burden.

This...was a long time coming. For both of them, really. A chance to deal with the man who very nearly ruined their lives, who did ruin part of Akechi's? They had no intentions of throwing this opportunity away or letting it slip through their fingers.

 

Holding a right-handed sword felt strange to say the least. His own cutlass was a special one gifted to him by Souji after an impromptu trip abroad; this was a simple one that Akira had procured through someone that he had been assured was the epitome of discreet. Something about not wanting to draw more attention to his business than necessary.

He slowly rolled the blade around a few times to get used to the balance in his non-dominant hand before looking over to Joker, who was settling the camera into place and setting his phone to vibrate.

“Ever nervous before you step in front of your audience, Joker?” he asked, pulling his own phone out and triple checking that he had left it on silent. The gravel he'd managed to work into his voice strained him just the barest hint, but he believed he could keep it up as long as need be. There wasn't much of a choice in the matter for him.

His companion's lips curled up ever so slightly before he fished a dagger out of the inside of his coat and carefully ran a thumb across the edge of the blade.

“Sometimes I still get the pre-execution jitters, but I haven't had a hiccup on-screen since the beginning. I'm actually really proud of myself. I know you're used to being in front of a camera, but I get the distinct feeling that sitting in front of an obnoxious show host talking about your progress on your boyfriend's case and actually participating in one of the murders are two different feelings. But I think you'll do fine. I wouldn't trust you on screen otherwise,” he answered. He walked over to carefully push Crow's mask up his face so he could easily press their lips together in a firm and reassuring kiss. For a moment they simply stayed like that and enjoyed just how close they were to each other before Joker pulled back with a crooked smile and settled his knife back into its place inside his coat..

“You're awful, Joker,” Crow muttered as he pushed his mask back down onto his face. He carefully settled up onto the table beside the camera and tossed one leg up over the other. His gloved hands settled into his lap. Joker stuck his tongue out teasingly at his boyfriend before hopping up onto the table on the opposite side of the camera and leaning back on his palms to wait patiently for Shido to awaken.

It took a while, and in fact it took long enough that Joker began to worry he wouldn't, but soon enough he began stirring and groaned lowly. He tried to raise his left hand to hold his head but found it jerked to a stop, which pulled him even further out of his daze.

“What the hell...?”

“Showtime,” Joker muttered as tapped a button on the camera before slowly sliding off the table to stalk forward with the grace of a dancer. Crow couldn't help but wonder watching him first hand if perhaps Joker was a dancer, and if that was where his natural grace and flexibility came from. He'd only ever gotten the chance to watch Joker move through recordings that weren't really the best quality; seeing it firsthand felt like watching artwork come to life almost.

Shido's head slowly raised at the movement in front of him, and the moment his eyes landed on Joker they bugged out in fear before he started tugging against his restraints. The chair would have tipped over but Joker had learned his lesson from Kaneshiro and had taken the opportunity to screw the damn thing into the floor. It always amazed him how he could still learn things from his kills no matter how small the lesson was.

After completely regaining his senses Shido continued to pull against his bonds hard enough that Joker worried some of the ropes might snap. Crow had mentioned that Shido was stronger than he looked and now Joker was glad he'd had the foresight to use the thickest rope he had for this one. When it finally became obvious that Shido was not going anywhere he settled back into his chair and began glaring at his would-be executioner.

“Look here, runt. I'll give you whatever you want. A young man like yourself, you've obviously got desires of some kind. Maybe a smoking hot girlfriend, or a better job, or just money to blow in general. Whatever it is it's yours. All you have to do is let me go. Yeah? That can be arranged easy. Just give me your name, I know how to be quiet,” he said firmly. Joker let the corners of his lips quirk up just a bit, his arms crossing firmly in front of his chest.

“Oh I know you can keep quiet. All those deals you made with those other politicians, the deals you made for your positions...I know all about those. You'd be surprised what your phone records without you knowing it,” he purred. The grin on his face split even wider when Shido fixed him with a murderous look. “Oh don't act so surprised. Really. Did you really think you were so far above the common rabble?”

“I don't know what you're talking about. Stop spouting bullshit and let me go. I'm sure you know what my position is, you know how important I am. You won't get away with this, I promise you. Any minute now there will be police officers swarming this place to collect me and drag your sorry ass off to jail,” he hissed.

Beside the camera Crow carefully raised a hand to his mouth to stifle some quiet laughter. Shido, in all his infinite wisdom and supposed observance skills, had completely missed the fact that they had a guest sitting not five feet from them. A quick glance at his phone revealed a message from Alibaba letting them both know that their location was safe and secure, as always. She did, however, advise that they maybe speed things up a little bit just to be safe. He slowly set it back down on the table to prevent it from clicking against the wood and set his hands back into his lap. Somehow the movement still didn't attract Shido's attention.

Joker carefully leaned back onto one of his heels and clicked his tongue quietly. After a moment he slowly fished his dagger out and began twirling the blade around lazily. His eyes flickered around Shido's body carefully, deciding where the best place to begin his torture would be before deciding on thin, aged fingers. Joker took the first in hand, pausing a moment to move out of the way of the camera, and began pulling Shido's pointer finger back against his hand.

“How many people have you ruined with these fingers, I wonder? How many people have you condemned to death or even a fate worse than that with your hands?” He continued to bend the finger backwards ever so slowly as he spoke. When he heard a joint crack painfully and Shido jerked beneath his grasp he grinned. “You're not young anymore. Your bones and joints are pretty brittle. Just a little bit more and...” He dropped all of his weight down onto Shido's finger and laughed softly at the pained shriek it earned him. Without giving him a moment's rest Joker put one hand behind the disfigured finger and the other just at the tip before slamming it down and further damaging the digit.

“F-fuck! Fuck you you little brat! Stop...stop saying that shit! I haven't done anything! You're...you're lying! Trying to ruin my campaign!” The strength he used to pull at his bonds caused the ropes to strain again, and Akira watched in mild amusement as the skin beneath the material began to turn red.

“You wanted to try and bribe me into letting you go though. If that's the case, then...how many bribes have you taken? How many have you _given_ to get to where you are?” Joker asked. He took Shido's thumb in hand then and twisted it in a tight circle until it sat at an awkward angle. More jerky attempts at breaking free followed suit just as he expected they would. They always behaved the same.

“N-none! None, I got to where I am honestly!” Shido argued. When Joker clicked his tongue again something about it sounded different. Less enthusiastic.

“Well. I can't seem to get anything out of you,” he deadpanned, and for a brief moment Shido's face showed relief. Maybe he'd be let go. Maybe Joker couldn't actually pin any crimes on him and he would be set free.

Those hopes were dashed with just a few quick words.

“Maybe my dear Crow can get something out of you,” he said as he twirled on the spot to walk towards the camera before settling up onto the table opposite his companion, who fluidly slid out into the limelight with a toothy smile.

The thick, inky blackness of his wig brushed against the back of his neck with a different feeling than his normal hair and shot shivers up his spine. The black and blue of his striped suit clung tight to his body, the feathers of his cape whispering softly against it. His black mask pressed against his face with almost uncomfortable pressure, but that could easily be chalked up to having never worn one for an extended period of time.

One steel-tipped claw scraped across Shido's cheek and left an angry red welt behind that steadily wept crimson. Crow lazily draped himself across the back of the chair and began lazily drumming his fingers across the top of the bastard's bald head.

“Oh, this is a long time coming,” he purred, patting his head and straightening back up with a sharp smile. “Tell me. Do you remember the names of the politicians you've had murdered? The innocent people whose lives you've ruined in your ascension to your gilded throne? I've researched them all. I like to make sure I know the crimes of my victims, and you were no exception. I've been building a list against you for _years_.” His claws slid across Shido's skin towards his ears, drawing more blood in their wake and earning a few sharp hisses from his victim.

“I haven't done anything! Stop spouting this bullshit! I'm innocent, damn you! I'm innocent!” Crow hummed softly in the back of his throat, fingers drumming out some sort of rhythm across Shido's shoulders as he tilted his head from side to side in thought. Eventually he seemed to settle on something, as he pulled away to step back in front of Shido.

“You're far from innocent, Shido. I have an extensive list of your crimes. Let's see if I can get you to confess to any of them,” he growled before lifting a foot up to brace it against Shido's arm; he put every bit of his weight into shoving his elbow in as hard as he could. The satisfying crunch of joints sliding out of place echoed in the warehouse and brought a sick, satisfying thrill to both of his tormentors.

Shido had destroyed their lives in his own fucked up way, and now they were getting the chance to destroy his right back. One arm had already been shattered, two of his fingers had been shattered and potentially ripped out of their socket, and the pair had only just begun their work. When Crow's boot hit the floor of the warehouse Shido spat down and grit his teeth in an attempted display of rebellion.

“Bullshit! I haven't done anything! You're lying! You're lying, stop it!” Crow's claws slashed across Shido's face with much more force than they did before. The corner of his lip split open almost an inch in before the opposite claws swiped across the other side and left a deep scratch across Shido's eye. He swept over to Shido's other side and then shoved his foot into the elbow to destroy it. He jerked and tugged against the bonds even as his vision began to swim and his ears began to ring. If he had any hair Crow would be yanking his head forward and then slamming it back against the chair.

“I wouldn't lie to Crow if I were you~” Joker teased from where he sat, legs kicking back and forth lazily. The camera couldn't see him so it didn't show the cynical, wicked grin on his face. Slowly he leaned forward to grab at the tips of his pointed boots and chuckled softly. “He's a lot more sadistic than I am.”

Blood dripped in a steady rhythm from Shido's lips to his lap. Every breath he took seemed labored and strained, like a heavy weight rest on his shoulders. For a long while the only sounds in the spacious warehouse were those of Shido wheezing and gasping and the impatient _tap tap tap_ of Crow's claws on the wood of the chair before him. As Shido's head finally raised both Joker and Crow leaned forward to hear the inevitable confession clear as day.

“...Fuck you _brats_. Why don't you go home like good children and let the adults take care of business? Like it _should be_.” Joker let out a disappointed sigh and leaned back a bit while Crow grunted in anger. His fingers flexed, claws digging in but not piercing the material of his gloves, before very very gently settling across Shido's face.

“I'm not surprised you're a stubborn bastard. I suppose that just means we'll have to take more extreme measures on you,” he hissed before raking all of his claws down Shido's face, continued down his throat, and dug into his stomach with every bit of force he could muster. Another sharp shriek that actually killed the mic on the camera for a few seconds rang out, but Crow simply stared at his victim with sharp stoicism and a bland expression.

He would absolutely enjoy torturing this bastard.

 

Almost an hour later and Shido showed no signs of breaking despite the massive number of bones that had already been shattered. Three of his ribs had cracked with one of them dangerously close to piercing a lung and causing him to choke on his own blood, left leg bent at a painfully unnatural angle, right one just as fucked up, and countless scratches marred his aging face. How he was still alive, let alone conscious enough to continue insisting on his innocence, was anyone's guess. Both killers had to hand it to him; the bastard was resilient and didn't seem too keen on dying. 

Finally Joker seemed to have enough and swept over behind Shido with his knife in hand and rage in his eyes. After this long he finally understood there would _be no_ confession this time. It left a nasty taste in his mouth and burned like a bee sting but his ego could take a few hits. Having Crow with him helped ease the blow too.

“We've reminded you of every wrong you've committed and yet you hold steadfast in your innocence. A wolf in sheep's clothing, and one that needs to be skinned. Your lying silver tongue will never speak the truth, despite the proof of your sins all around you.” He set one hand on Shido's head, mindful of the blood smeared across the shining skin, and held his knife ever so gently to Shido's throat. “So tell me, Crow. What's the verdict?” There's a soft but gravely laugh followed by a body propping against the back of the chair.

“Guilty, my dear Joker,” he answered firmly. The wicked grin from before settled back on Joker's features as he leaned down to whisper quietly into Shido's ear.

“Perhaps you should have thought a little harder before you pinned that assault charge on me,” he whispered before pulling the blade across the bastard's throat. There was a garbled and panicked cough before Crow leaned down to whisper in Shido's other ear.

“And perhaps you should have thought a little harder before abandoning my mother after knocking her up,” he hissed before shoving the politician's head forward and cleanly severing his head with his cutlass. It landed firmly in his lap with a sickeningly wet plop, and the pair shared a brief look between them before Akira stepped back in front of the camera and leaned down to cover the entire frame.

“Sorry to disappoint you all. Trust me, this hurts me just as much as it hurts you. We tried _so hard_ to get a confession out of him...maybe he was holding out for the police to come save him. But it wasn't enough, as always~! And don't worry, Mister Detective Prince. You'll have aaaaaaaall the evidence you need to confirm our claims with the body, as always. All of it shooooooould be enough to prove a few people as innocent, too. Bye bye~” He tapped the record button to cut the food and straightened back up before calmly turning to his companion, who seemed to have fixed him with a disbelieving exression.

“Really? Was the taunt necessary?” he asked as he reached down to collect Shido's head. “I'm going to have such a headache for the next few weeks now because of you.” Akira slipped his mask off with a short laugh and tossed it over onto the table calmly.

“Oh come on babe, you know you thrive in the limelight. This will get a lot more people talking about you won't it?” he asked. He stepped over to begin removing the rope from what was left of the corpse while he spoke. “Is there a clear path to the dump site?”

“Of course. I know all the back ways in, and I know that one of the cameras is dead. If we need to then we can have Futaba cover for us and put the cameras on loop. I don't think it'll be necessary though.” His boots clicked against the hard floor as he dropped the head down onto the plastic wrap covering a section of the table. Akira listened as his claws tapped down one by one to the wood and a choked sob ripped its way out of the brunette's fragile body.

“Goro?”

“He's...he's finally gone,” Akechi whispered, taking the head in his hands and slowly turning it to face him. A permanent scowl had etched itself into his face when he died and seemed almost comical to Akechi. “The bastard ruined my life and caused me so much pain, and he's finally _gone_.” A hand settled reassuringly onto the small of his back as lips brushed against his temple. “I can't tell you how many times I've dreamt of holding his head in my hands like this. This...this bastard destroyed my childhood and now...he finally got the punishment he deserved.”

“I know baby,” Akira whispered. His hands threaded into soft brown locks. He reached down to let their fingers wind together and leaned his head against his lover's. “Come on. We need to get the body dumped so Futaba can upload the video.” Akechi sniffled, and nodded, and carefully wiped the tears from his eyes as he set about preparing the head for display. Akira offered him one last reassuring kiss before ducking off to collect the rest of the body.

 

Ryuji hadn't been expecting company that night, even after telling Akira and Akechi that he would be alone the entire time. Yuuki and his parents had gone to visit some relatives elsewhere for a few days and Yuuki had convinced them to let Ryuji apartment sit for them. It would have been perfect if they'd actually bothered to answer him.

When he heard soft knocking he thought that maybe he'd kept his speaker too loud and upset their neighbor again. There was an apology already on the tip of his tongue before he even had a hand on the door that died in the back of his throat almost immediately.

“Go-chan! I wasn't expectin' you, shouldn't you be at work? Joker and Crow...” His voice slowly petered out as he took in the brunette's appearance; the tired eyes, the firm set of his lips, the tension in his shoulders...he looked almost dead on his feet. Seeing Ryuji seemed to ease a little bit of the tension out of his body at least. He offered a loving but tired smile before pulling the blond in for a hug. “...Go-chan?”

“I just wanted to make sure you're okay love. That's all,” he answered quietly. Akechi nuzzled into the crook of Ryuji's neck and let his arms tighten and simply held him for a long, long while. He needed this. Shido may be dead finally but the strain of literally everything was beginning to take its toll on him.

“Why wouldn't I be okay?” Ryuji asked. Heat radiated off of Akechi and seeped into Ryuji's bones as they stood in the doorway of the apartment. Instead of providing an answer Akechi reached down to take Ryuji's hand and hold it tight while his other arm wrapped protectively around his boyfriend's waist. When he reached up to pet Akechi's hair he practically melted into the touch.

“Don't worry about it,” Akechi whispered before trying to pull away. Trying being the keyword, as Ryuji kept a death grip on him and forced himself to keep his breathing even.

He'd made his decision a long time ago, but this sealed the deal that it would be happening tonight.

“Stay here for the night. I'm alone 'nd if you're worried about my safety, shouldn't you be somewhere you can keep an eye on me?” Ryuji offered. Every nerve in his body jumped and twisted around as he spoke. He could do this. This was Akechi, this was his boyfriend, his Go-chan. He'd be fine. “You look like you could use a shower 'nd some food. I made dinner and there was too much. Come on. Stay the night.”

“I...” Akechi let out a soft breath of air that almost sounded like a laugh and squeezed Ryuji's hand again affectionately. The smile on his face warmed Ryuji's heart and brought one to his own face. “I think I'll take you up on that. I'm afraid I don't have any spare clothes though, and I'm not sure I would be able to fit yours.” A soft shade of red spread across Ryuji's face.

“Aki-chan left some of his clothes here when he stayed over with me 'nd Yuuki. They should be enough to fit you, right?” Akechi laughed properly and nodded as Ryuji stepped back out of the doorway to let him in. “I'll show you to the bathroom after I get you some clothes, 'kay? I'll have dinner ready for you when you get out.”

“You're too good for me Ryuyu,” he whispered. Their hands stayed wrapped together as Ryuji began leading him off further into the small but homey apartment to Yuuki's room, where the first thing he notices is the deep navy comforter and white pillow cases. Why it caught his attention he wasn't sure, but it did. Maybe it was just fascinating to him that they seemed to have the same color schemes for their sheets.

After fishing through Ryuji's bag of clothes he produced a familiar shirt and sweatpants that Akechi was guilty of stealing more than a few times already.

The moment the bathroom door shut Ryuji shot off to Yuuki's bedroom. It wouldn't take him long to heat up the leftovers or even make something new if Akechi insisted on it, but it would take a bit longer to get the rest of his plan set up. The twisting anxiety in his gut slowed his movements and left him jittery but there was enough determination to shove it off to the side. He wanted to do this. He had to do this.

He had just finished smoothing the sheets on the bed when Akechi stepped out of the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen. He found a simple stir fry waiting for him and happily settled in to stuff his face. He spent a little while texting Akira, making sure that he'd managed to make it home safely enough and that he hadn't been caught dropping off the body. The warmth of the food settled wonderfully into his belly and by the time he'd finished it all he felt far more relaxed than he'd been before.

Ryuji stepped into the kitchen and propped himself in the doorway with a nervous little blush and a soft smile. He'd changed into a massively oversized T-shirt and a pair of shorts that just barely peeked out from under the hem. The scars that littered his legs seemed to have faded just a little bit, other than the surgery scar along his shin that always left a bitter taste in the back of Akechi's mouth. Somehow he managed to keep himself from making a less than pleasant face. Maybe because he had the opportunity to stare at his boyfriend's legs.

“C'mon. Yuuki said I could sleep in his bed while they're gone. The couch ain't really comfortable, 'nd I wanna cuddle you,” Ryuji said. Akechi chalked the color in his boyfriend's cheeks up to strange lighting and nodded as he slid out from his place at the table and over to the sink. It wasn't surprising to find the blond plastering himself to Akechi's back to hold him tightly as they shuffled off to the bedroom again.

When Ryuji hopped up onto the bed with a nervous laugh Akechi realized those weren't shorts he was wearing underneath the shirt, and his entire face bloomed red. He also realized that the comforter was now a soft violet and that the pillow cases were the same color. Instead of letting his mind wander he chalked it up to Ryuji only being allowed to sleep on the bed if he bought his own sheets and simply crawled up after his boyfriend.

Before he had the opportunity to lay down Ryuji was dragging him up for kisses, which he happily returned with a few gentle little pecks. The slow progression from chaste kisses to a full-on make-out session meant that Akechi didn't realize just how worked up he'd gotten until Ryuji's knee pushed up between his legs and pulled a quiet little whimper from him. He pulled away with every intent of apologizing and happily relegating himself to the couch but found Ryuji's knee pressing up against him again and far more insistently now. The whimper turned into a choked-back moan.

“R...Ryuyu, I-” The knee pushed into him again and this time he couldn't keep the moan from tumbling out, as embarrassing as it was. When he looked up to Ryuji's face he saw firm determination mixed with the barest hint of anxiousness on his face. “...Ryuji?”

“I wanna try again,” he said. There was a bit of a shake in his voice that both parties ignored. “I know you won't hurt me. 'nd I've been uhhhhhh...practicing.” The red on his face seemed to spread further at the admission. His fingers curled into the thick blanket beneath him. His boxers did little to hide the tent between his legs.

“...Alright. But under a few conditions. One. If it gets to be too much, tell me to stop. I don't care how upset or angry you might think I will be. I won't. Your safety and well-being come first, understand?” Ryuji nodded sharply. “Two. If I do anything you don't like, you tell me to stop. If I get to rough or say something that you don't like, tell me to stop.” Another sharp nod. Akechi carefully began pulling away from Ryuji, who seemed to look upset for a brief second before Akechi was holding a finger up to his own lips. “Three. We're going to keep our phones nearby, unlocked, so that if you need to you can call Akira. I don't care how into it we are, if you feel the need to talk to him we stop and you call. Understand?”

“Alright. Don't think it'll be necessary though,” he said as Akechi slipped off the bed and over to his discarded clothes. “Can I ask why though? I mean, this seems like an awful lot of stuff just for us to...you know.” Akechi leaned down to pull Ryuji's phone out of his pocket and gently slid it against his.

“Admittedly the phones are more for my peace of mind.” His steps back towards the bed were slow and careful. Like he was still deciding whether or not this really was a good idea or not. “I'm scared that I'll hurt you somehow, and I know I won't be the right person to talk about it with. This way if I do mess up...you'll have someone to seek comfort with. I'm sure it seems selfish, but...” The phones clicked together as he set them carefully on the nightstand beside the bed as Ryuji reached out to take his hand again.

“I don't think it's selfish. This is a pretty big step for me. For us. 'm not stupid. I think it's nice that you're so worried about me.” He brought Akechi's hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it softly before pressing another to the center of his palm. He gave a gentle tug to coax Akechi back onto the bed and easily melted underneath him when he settled over him.

This time their kisses were more confident, more firm, with desire flooding between them even if it was tempered by hesitance. Ryuji was the first to make any sort of move to take things further by reaching down to tug insistently on the waistband of Akechi's sweatpants. It turned into a bit of a struggle to get them off since neither one wanted to separate from each other but eventually they succeeded and tossed the offending clothing down on the floor somewhere. Ryuji's fingers sunk into Akechi's hair while nipping at his lip and he rocked his hips up to get a taste of friction.

Akechi reached down to pull Ryuji's boxers down and off as he pulled back to catch his breath. His lips were swollen and red and his eyes shone bright.

“How far do you want to go tonight?” he breathed. Ryuji threw an arm up over his eyes and swallowed thickly as he began working out an answer. He hadn't quite thought this far, he thought that Akechi would shoot the possibility of them trying anything tonight down without a second thought. A warm hand settled on his thigh and made him push into its touch happily.

“...All the way if I can,” he whispered back quietly. “I know I don't have to...do this. I know you'll love me anyway. But I want to do this. I wanna be as close to you as I can. I promise I'll stop if it gets too much. I still wanna try though. Please...Goro?” Oh how weak he was to hearing that soft voice plead like that. To say his full name in such a breathy tone with those wide, brown, pleading eyes left him smiling and leaning down to kiss him heatedly.

Ryuji pushed Akechi up and away from him just long enough to fight their shirts off and across the room before reaching down to shove his boxers out of the way and carefully took Akechi's cock in hand to squeeze it gently. The gentle shudder that ran through the brunette's body brought a warm smile to Ryuji's lips. Akechi returned the touch and smirked to himself when Ryuji nearly levitated off the bed.

“Ah...do you have lube?” Akechi asked calmly, admiring the way that Ryuji's skin began turning a bright and brilliant red. There was a vague hand gesture towards the night stand that gave him the answers he wanted before both hands raised to cover his face in embarrassment. Instead of teasing Akechi leaned forward to brush his lips against Ryuji's knuckles and reached over to the fish the bottle out. He absently noted that the bottle had only been used once or twice and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Did you get this just for us?”

“Yeah. Didn't wanna use Yuuki's, so I uhhhh...I had...someone else get it for me,” Ryuji muttered. He squirmed just a bit in his seat and carefully separated his fingers so he could meet Akechi's eyes. “I've been plannin' this for a while. Didn't think it would actually happen.” Akechi chuckled and very carefully separated Ryuji's hands before leaning in to gently press their lips together. The tension began draining from Ryuji's shoulders at the soft touch; when they pulled apart he let out a soft little whine.

“Don't worry. I'll take my time and make sure you're seeing stars before I'm done,” Akechi promised before coaxing Ryuji down onto his back. “Remember. If it's too much, you tell me to stop. No questions asked. No trying to tough it out. Understand?” A curt nod, and Akechi slowly settled in between Ryuji's legs before popping the cap of the lube open and soaking his fingers in far more than he would likely need for this. But better safe than sorry, because he didn't want this to hurt if he could help it. When the tip of his finger brushed against Ryuji's entrance he jumped, and Akechi immediately flicked his eyes up in question.

“'s just cold,” he said before Akechi could pose a proper question. He chuckled softly then tried again, and this time Ryuji only offered a quiet hiss as it slowly sank inside him. It felt...weird. But still nice. Different from all the times that he'd done this to himself to prepare for this but instead of making him tense and shake it made him sink further into the plush bed. The reassuring hand on his hip helped keep him grounded and let himself get lost in the pleasure of Akechi's touch. He didn't even notice the second finger pushing in until they began to separate and spread him open. He rolled his hips down until he felt knuckles against his ass and keened high and long in the back of his throat.

“Careful Ryuji, I don't want you hurting yourself.” Akechi chided softly. His squeezed down on Ryuji's hip gently and let his fingers curl up to see what Ryuji's reaction would be to having pressure put on his sweet spot. The answer came with him arching up off the bed and letting out a deep and appreciative moan. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, yes, fine, don't stop please-” Ryuji arched up off the bed again when Akechi's fingers curled a second time. Lightning flashed through him, had him squirming and begging Akechi for more, more, more. The fingers in him pulled away and he let out another needy whimper. Their eyes met, and their hearts both seemed to hammer out of their chests as Akechi straightened up to fetch the bottle of lube.

Both of Ryuji's hands settled over his face to hide the redness in it while Akechi slicked himself up and pressed the head of his cock against Ryuji's entrance. His stomach twisted a bit like someone had plunged a knife into it and for a brief moment he wasn't sure he could actually go through with this and almost considered telling Akechi to stop before his voice broke through the thick haze.

“Are you absolutely sure about this Ryuji? You can tell me no and I won't be upset.” Ryuji inhaled once, twice, three times and slowly dropped his hands from his face to reach out and set them on Akechi's shoulders to squeeze.

“I'm sure, Goro. I trust you.” The normal confidence that seemed to follow Akechi everywhere he went vanished and left an embarrassed nervous ball in its place as Akechi very very gently set his hands on Ryuji's hips to start pushing inside. The first push made Ryuji grunt and squeeze down on Akechi's shoulders. The further in Akechi sank, the more Ryuji shook, until he finally bottomed out and he almost thought it sounded like the blond was _wheezing_.

“Are you alright?” Chewed up nails dug into the meat of his shoulders and it took every ounce of his willpower not to jerk forward at the slight sting he felt. Ryuji gently shoved his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck and offered a shaky nod.

“Yeah, 'm fine, you're just...bigger than I thought,” he admitted with a shaky laugh. A quiet giggle bubbled up in the back of Akechi's throat as he nuzzled against blond strands. His thumbs rubbed slowly against Ryuji's hipbones in a comforting rhythm.

“Thank you for the compliment,” he whispered and kissed Ryuji's temple lovingly. They stayed like that for a while, giving Ryuji the chance to adjust to the feeling, until he gave a tentative roll of his hips and earned a choked gasp as a reward. Before he could even think about asking whether he could keep going Ryuji was rocking up into him and holding on for dear life already.

The pace was slow and augmented, far more gentle and loving than either one was used to but welcome all the same. When he felt certain that he could handle it Ryuji pulled Akechi in for a sloppy, heated kiss with tears in the corners of his eyes. There were a few false starts where Ryuji told Akechi to wait for a few moments, but eventually they managed to get things going and lose themselves in each other.

Every few moments Ryuji would huff out a laugh that proved contagious and coaxed a matching sound from Akechi. They were really doing this, they were actually having sex, Ryuji could feel Akechi inside of him pushing against his walls and sending heat all across his body and-

Without warning he was arching up with a wail while stars blinked across his vision. Akechi had hit that spot again, the one that had him reacting just as strongly when he was being fingered, and fuck did he never want Akechi to stop making him feel like that. The only thing he could focus on, wanted to focus on even, was just how close he was with one of the most important people in his life. Each careful thrust only made his voice raise higher and higher. Akechi's hand slid down to take him in hand and gave him a few quick strokes before everything blanked out in beautiful white nothingness.

There was just enough of him not stuck in the cloudy haze of post-orgasmic bliss to notice his lover trying to pull away, which meant there was enough of him left to keep his legs hooked tight around a slender waist. He didn't want this to end yet, it felt too good to be separated, don't stop it's fine just please don't stop...

The only warning he received was Akechi whispering that he was close through grit teeth, and then warmth was flooding his insides and everything felt _right_. After everything that he'd been through he thought for sure this would never happen, that he'd never be able to get this close to anyone else again. And yet here he was, clinging to the first person he ever loved and feeling calm and relaxed and happy.

“Ryuji you're crying...did I do something wrong? Are you alright?” The blond sniffled and wiped the tears out of his eyes with a weak snort.

“'m fine. Just can't believe I actually did that, y'know? I thought it wouldn't ever happen. Felt damn good, that's for sure,” he purred, actually purred, and let his lips curl up pleasantly. It seemed to be enough for Akechi who mirrored the expression and leaned in for a warm kiss. When they separated completely Ryuji whimpered at the loss of contact and closed his eyes to avoid watching Akechi laugh at him.

Cleaning up was easy thankfully, though Ryuji clung to his boyfriend all over again during the entire process, and let himself be deposited into bed while Akechi went to get them some water. When he had disappeared out of the bedroom Ryuji leaned over to pick his phone up lazily and open his thread with Akira.

_I did it. He's going to get us water. Only freaked out like four times. Even got us both to finish._

_See? I told you it would be fine. How are you feeling right now? Okay?_

_Just fine. Maybe a little...shaken. But it's not too bad. Just can't believe I actually had sex. With someone I loved. Crazy, huh?_

_That's great. I told you he wouldn't hurt you. You were right to trust him. Now put your phone down and cuddle him for a bit. You both deserve it. Love you._

_Love you too babe._

He set his phone back down just as Akechi reappeared in the doorway and rolled over to greet him with a wave. The brunette happily joined him and pressed a glass of cold water into his hands.

“How are you feeling now that you've come down?” he asked quietly. Ryuji used his glass to give him a few moments to think it over, and when he set his glass down he hummed quietly.

“Good. A little weird, but not bad I don't think. There's somethin' naggin' me in the back of my head but it's not loud enough to get to me. Feels...good.” He let his hand seek out Akechi's for comfort and squeezed it gently. “You made me feel good.”

“I'm glad I could.” They quietly scooted closer together while sipping their water before setting both glasses down together and shuffling underneath the covers. Their hands stayed locked together as the rest of their limbs tangled into one large mess where near could really tell what belonged to who. When Ryuji tucked his head up underneath Akechi's and let his eyes slip closed he couldn't keep the smile off his face if he tried.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I got an update out on time? What is this blasphemy. I'm proud of myself. Hopefully this means I'll be consistent for the final stretch now.<3

The months leading up to Akira's departure were hectic but pleasant. The small little niche he'd carved out for himself during his time in Tokyo proved to be a lot deeper than he'd originally thought. 

For part of Christmas he found himself shoved into a booth in Leblanc with Futaba and Sojiro and both of his boyfriends exchanging presents and just generally being a family, which was something that neither Akira nor Akechi had ever properly experienced but found that they thrived nonetheless. There was Christmas cake and ugly sweaters and an all-around feeling of warmth and belonging.

The second half of Christmas saw him in Minato's apartment listening to a good-natured but very serious scolding for being so reckless and not telling him what the hell he was actually planning and just telling him to be home on a certain day at a certain time while gently leaning against Akechi's side. Scared the shit out of him when he got a call from the police station to come collect Souji.

“But I turned out to be fine, just a little woozy,” Souji argued around the chicken in his mouth. Minato shot him a death glare, partly for speaking with his mouth open and partly for downplaying something so horrible, and took a slow sip of his drink.

“I thought that you'd been hurt. When they told me to come down to the station I almost thought they'd pinned you with the murders or something,” he snapped. His eyes flicked off to the side as a gentle spattering of red raised along his cheeks. “I know it seems stupid, but I still thought it. I'm just glad you're okay.”

“Our apologies, Minato-san. We didn't think about how much it might worry you to find out that we used Seta-senpai in our plan,” Akechi offered, and three pairs of eyes rolled at just how formal he still insisted on being with the other two. “He offered, however, and we couldn't convince him to change his mind.”

“If I hadn't helped you two you might have been caught. The police were trying to get me to give them anything I could on what happened, they thought they could get you two through me. When I 'couldn't' remember anything they finally started searching for you but it was too late,” Souji explained. “Also, Goro, really. You need to stop being so tense around us. I know you respect us but you make us feel old.”

“Or more important than we are.”

“Right, or more impo-hey...” Minato chuckled behind his glass and brought a foot out to tap it against the bottom of Souji's. “Snarky little brat.” Akira chuckled softly when Minato stuck his tongue out playfully at Souji, who laughed and leaned over to brush of his hair out of his face. The red on Minato's face only seemed to deepen at the strangely intimate gesture. “You're acting like a schoolgirl and it's kind of cute.”

“Don't make me gut you, Souji. I'll come out of retirement just to end you.” Souji chuckled softly and pressed a kiss just to the side of Minato's part before pulling back. If it were possible steam would be billowing out from the poor man's ears. Instead he made his absolute displeasure known by shoving a piece of cake into Souji's face to make him back off. It seemed to work well enough; he settled back into his seat while scraping the cake down onto a plate and spearing a piece onto a fork to pop into his mouth.

“On a slightly related and yet also unrelated topic, I'm glad that the prime minister we have now seems to be at least a little more honest than what Shido would have been,” Akira chimed in. Minato seemed eternally grateful for the distraction, as he gave Akira a quick glance before picking his drink up again. “Futaba checked this one out. He's made a few...questionable decisions, but nothing of the gravity that Shido did. She'll keep an eye on him and let me know if something worse comes up.”

“Good. I'd rather not deal with trying to murder another politician again, however. The paperwork after Shido's murder was such a headache,” Akechi sighed. “And do you know how much of an ass-chewing I got for having my phone on silent during the recording? My boss yelled at me for almost an hour about responsibilities. I calmly reminded him that I'd had a cold and explained that I had taken some medication just before the calling card went live. He wasn't thrilled but he had no reason to dispute my claims, thankfully.”

“Bringing Akechi along for the murder was dangerous and stupid,” Minato pointed out calmly. His eyes flickered off to the side briefly. “...But I also understand why you insisted on it. Both of you. I'm glad you got your justice.” After a moment he offered up a laugh and added, “Just don't let it get to your head though, got it? There's still the chance of fucking up.”

“We know, Senpai. We're taking a break from our work though. That way I can spend the last few months I have here just...focusing on my relationship. I don't want to get too wrapped up in everything and neglect Goro or Ryuyu,” Akira said. A very gentle blush colored his cheeks when Akechi reached over to lace their pinkies together. The smile on Akira's face spread even further when the finger wrapped with his turned into two.

“You two have good heads on your shoulders. I really hope that transfers over to your relationship as well.” Minato glanced down at his phone for a moment and hummed. “It's getting late. You two should probably start heading home soon. Did you spend today with Ryuji?”

“We did, yes. He decided to go home and spend the rest of Christmas with Mishima and his family, since they were the ones that let him stay there,” Akechi answered as he stood. The fingers holding Akira's hand were enough to convince him to stand as well. “Thank you for the presents as well. I hope your relationship goes well over the next year.”

“I hope yours does as well,” Souji said cheerfully as the other two left. With the apartment silent he carefully leaned over to rest his head on Minato's shoulder. “...They deserve a happy ending. Don't you think?”

“I do. Nobody deserves to go through the pain we've suffered,” Minato muttered as he turned to shove his face into the top of Souji's head. “I'll be moving out of Tokyo, once Akira goes back to his hometown after his probation. He'll need me.” Souji huffed and set a hand on Minato's shoulder.

“I'll probably be going back to Inaba soon. Once Joker and Crow go quiet they'll ship me back because they'll assume those two have left. They won't really be wrong, but...it'll make meeting up with you a lot harder.” There was a soft snort in his ear that made Souji giggle.

“Guess we'll just have to spend the next few months together as often as possible, won't we?” he hummed quietly. There was a small smile on their faces as they leaned in to share a warm and affectionate kiss. When Souji slid up into Minato's lap he let out a quiet hum and threaded his fingers into deep blue and startling gray strands.

Valentine's Day came around next, and Ryuji went into it fully expecting to get simple storebought chocolates and maybe a card. When he'd gotten a message from Akira to come to Leblanc he expected the crappy game system to be set up and for the two of them, maybe Akechi as well, to curl up under a blanket and spend the day staring at an equally crappy TV.

What he hadn't expected was to walk in and see three different bouquets and two large spreads of chocolate with Akechi and Akira arguing over whether Akira's homemade ones would be better than the designer ones made in a shop. Akira was still covered in chocolate and even still had an apron on, meaning they'd only just finished the treats in the past few hours. But that also let Ryuji know that these were important chocolates. That Akira and Akechi had both put thought into their Valentine's Day presents for him.

It was enough to make him start crying, which immediately cut the argument short in lieu of ushering Ryuji into one of the booths and cuddling him in the hopes of maybe making him feel at least a little less miserable. He couldn't quite understand all of what they were saying through the sounds of his sobs, but he could at least make out that they were asking him what was wrong and why he was crying. They were both pressing soft and obviously apologetic kisses all across his face to help him calm down.

“You...you m-made me...me chocolates,” he finally choked out. He sucked in a shaky breath and exhaled a broken wheeze. When Akira's face slid into his view he offered up a crooked smile. “I didn't...think you'd do that for me.”

“What? Why wouldn't we? You're our boyfriend, we want to spoil you,” Akechi scoffed from beside him. Fingers threading into his hair sent shivers down his spine and drained a bit more of the tension out of his body. A part of him worried that his roots were showing but the larger part of him didn't care. When Akira joined in touching him he let out a contented sigh and attempted to lean into both touches at once. Unsurprisingly he failed in his endeavor, but the sensations were still enough to help him get his breathing under control and speak in more consistent sentences.

“I know, but there was still some parta me that just didn't wanna believe it. That you two would do somethin' so...romantic for me,” he laughed. Color rose in his cheeks as he stared off to the side; Morgana slunk into his line of sight before disappearing behind the counter. Sojiro wasn't present for this train wreck, so he assumed the brat was just going for his food. “I really appreciate this. It's sweet. I love you both so much.”

“We love you too, Ryuyu.” Akira and Akechi both pressed their lips against his temples gently before reaching down to wrap their fingers together in a tight little ball. “Now why don't we enjoy these chocolates that I slaved over until about three hours ago hmm?”

“And the ones that I purchased,” Akechi added, which earned him a playful shove from Akira to make him stumble backwards a few steps. Ryuji laughed quietly and covered his mouth as he slid out of the booth and over to the counter. Akira rubbed between his shoulders gently before taking a seat next to the blond.

“We've got the whole cafe to ourselves for a little bit longer. Boss said he'd come by around noon to open up. Futaba's got a head cold she's trying to recover from,” Akira explained.

“Oh no, poor girl...” Akechi slid up into the seat next to Ryuji and gently wrapped an arm around his waist. “I hope she feels better soon. Being sick is an awful, awful thing.” Akira grabbed a piece of chocolate decorated to look like a tiny little cat and held it out to Ryuji. After a moment's consideration he leaned forward and pulled the piece of chocolate into his mouth and laughed through a warm smile.

“'s really good,” he said and bumped his shoulder against Akira's. “I knew you could cook, but I didn't know you knew how to make chocolates too.” Akira shrugged and picked up another one to offer it to Akechi now.

“I learned how to when I got my first crush. I gave them to the guy behind the junior high but he just...threw them away and told me not to talk to him again. Fucked me up pretty bad, but I moved on. Made chocolates a few more times over the years. Rinse and repeat the reactions. Kind of feels weird that they're actually being accepted for once,” he admitted nervously. The color that raised up on his cheeks brought twin smiles to Ryuji's and Akechi's lips.

“Well you never have to worry about having your chocolates rejected again,” Akechi assured him as he picked up a different chocolate, this one decorated with stripes of brown and white with little red hearts on them, and offered it up to Ryuji to try. He pulled this one into his mouth as well and let out a soft little moan of appreciation. “Good?”

“Friggin' delicious,” he muttered through the chocolate in his mouth. “You two should open a shop together or somethin'. You'd make bank.” Akira snorted and Akechi shook his head nervously before offering another piece to Akira to take. “I'm serious! These taste so good, I can't choose which one I like more.”

“I think you're biased, Ryuyu.”

“You know something Akechi? I think you're right. We should have a non-biased party try our chocolates. Maybe Ryuji isn't the best option.”

“Guys I'm sittin' right here, don't talk about me like I'm invisible!” Ryuji laughed and bumped shoulders with both of them. After a moment he turned his attention to Akechi's chocolates and frowned. “...Why do they have flowers on them? If you don't mind me askin'.” The brunette's face turned up a nice warm shade of red.

“...I remember you used to like flowers. And I didn't trust myself to make the chocolates and not mess them up, so I went out and bought them. I saw those and thought you'd like them,” he answered, and Akira began laughing.

“You know, that is absolutely the most Goro way of flirting ever, I think. Feels more sincere than his trashy pickup lines he keeps reading me off of his phone.” Akechi's face went from a gentle and nervous blush to a twisted mess of aggravation and just the barest hint of embarrassment. It was obvious he didn't appreciate the subtle jab at his flirting.

“I didn't think those pickup lines were trashy! I thought they were charming!” he argued.

“'The stars in the sky can't compare to the ones I see swimming in your eyes.'” Akira carefully propped his chin in his palm and levelled a teasing gaze at his boyfriend. The smirk on his lips curled up just a little bit higher when Akechi dragged his hand down his face and let out a low groan. “I could keep going, if you'd like. Or will one terrible pickup line be enough? I remember you said that to me last week on Wednesday. When we were leaning out of my window trying to convince Morgana to climb up the side of the building because neither of them really wanted to go downstairs to open the door and try to coax him in that way.”

“Akira please stop, you're embarrassing me in front of Ryuyu.”

“I think you do that pretty well on your own.” Akira watched Akechi sputter and scrub at his face with a huff. “...You're wearing makeup.”

“Huh? Hey, Go-chan, why're you wearing makeup?” Akechi cleared his throat nervously slowly lowered his hands down into his lap.

“I had to go out in public to get your chocolates. I don't like people seeing me without makeup on. I have an image to maintain,” he explained. Akira, against his better judgment, swiped his tongue across his thumb and then ran it across Akechi's cheek underneath his eye. When he pulled away there was a streak a few shades darker than his thumb on his skin. “Akira, I-”

“I've got makeup remover wipes up in my room. I'll go get them.” He slid out of his seat and scurried off over to the stairs and up to his room. Ryuji tilted his head ever so slightly before turning back to Akechi.

“Why would Aki-chan have makeup remover stuff?” he asked. Akechi's only answer came as a shrug as he picked up another piece of chocolate to indulge in himself. “Part of me feels like I ain't good lookin' enough for you. I see you on stage and you look like some sorta statue. Too pretty. Aki-chan too. Does he wear makeup too...?”

“Nah. Keep them around for Goro's visits,” Akira answered as he came downstairs. He fished out a wipe and began swiping it across Akechi's face without a moment's hesitation. “How long has it been since you came around without this stuff on? Three weeks? You'll give yourself a breakout if you don't let your skin rest.”

“Shut up Akira,” Akechi snapped, but there was no heat to it. Instead he leaned into the soft touches and let his eyes slip closed. “After we've enjoyed our chocolates let's head upstairs. I want to watch cheesy romance movies all day. Can we lay out the palette again? I want to cuddle both of you today.”

“That your idea of a romantic day? Just watching movies and cuddling? Because that absolutely sounds like a romantic day, and I didn't think you really had a romantic bone in your body,” Akira said. Before Akechi could protest Akira leaned forward and kissed him while stroking the wipe one last time across his chin, then tossed it away in the trash can behind the counter. “I'm happy to do that. If you two wanna head upstairs I'll pop on over to Boss's and get the extra blankets and pillows for us.” This time it was Akechi who leaned forward to kiss Akira before patting his arm and sliding out of his seat.

“We'll be waiting upstairs for you then. Don't take too long? I have an appearance tomorrow and need plenty of beauty sleep, so I'm afraid I'll have to turn in early,” he said. Akira set a hand on his chest and tapped his fingers a few times.

“Don't worry. I'll be back in a flash. Just hurry upstairs.” Akira pecked the corner of his lips and turned to step out of the cafe and off towards Sojiro's house.

When the door shut Akechi took Ryuji's hand and squeezed it before pulling him up and into the attic. Before Ryuji could step away Akechi yanked him in close and kissed the back of his neck. His arms wrapped carefully around Ryuji's waist, and they began to sway together slowly. For some reason this made Ryuji start giggling.

“Go-chan, why? What brought this on?” he asked. He set his hands on the back of Akechi's and did his best not to step on his toes. “Did you just...randomly decide you wanted to dance with me?” Another soft kiss to the back of his neck made him shiver.

“Mmhmm. It's Valentines' Day, after all. We won't be going out on a date, so...might as well do our best to make up for it. I wish we had music, though. Would make this so much easier,” he murmured quietly. Very, very slowly, he turned Ryuji around so that they were facing each other as they continued to move. One hand settled gently on Ryuji's hip as the other took his hand to hold. He pressed his cheek to Ryuji's and hummed quietly in the back of his throat.

The floorboards occasionally creaked underneath their feet with each step. Eventually Akechi began humming some sort of tune, giving them a tempo to match. Occasionally Akechi raised his head to press soft kisses wherever he could reach. Some of them landed on Ryuji's neck, some of them landed on his cheek, and others brushed against his lips lovingly. Ryuji's free arm raised up to loop around his neck as they danced; his cheeks felt a little bit sore from smiling so much.

The bell over the door downstairs chimed and broke the serene silence for a few brief seconds. Akechi paused and turned his attention back towards the stairs as Akira made his way up carrying three thick comforters and four fluffy pillows. Ryuji immediately began backing closer to the bed and dragging Akechi with him as the comforters hit the floor with a muted thump. Three pillows stayed clutched in Akira's hand; the fourth ended up mixed in with the comforters.

While Akira set about laying out the palette for them Ryuji and Akechi carried on a quiet conversation between them. A soft giggle made Akira glance up for a brief moment and smile at them before he continued to shuffle the pillows around. When everything had finally been settled into place Akira plopped down onto the comforters and leaned back to snuggle into one of the thick pillows. He pouted and gave the other two the most pitiful look he could muster.

“I'm lonely. Oh, if only there were some wonderful people who could come keep me company and drive away that feeling! Two handsome, loving people who could shower me in kisses and cuddles and affection so I don't whither away!” He rolled over onto his back and tossed an arm over his eyes before sighing dramatically and flinging his pillow across the room. It hit something and flopped to the floor a second later.

“That was my leg.” One of Akira's eyes cracked open to see Akechi fighting down a smile before walking over to plop down next to Akira. Ryuji took a moment to squat down and ruffle their hair lovingly before squeezing down in between them. Once they had all gotten comfortable there was a few moments of silence.

“...Anyone got the remote for the TV?”

 

When White Day came around, there came with it a sense of near impending dread. Akira would be leaving soon to return home, and while Ryuji and Akechi would have the entirety of the summer with him, Ryuji would be spending the entire next school year without either of his boyfriends. The thought put the blond in a sour mood, but he wouldn't let it show on his face. Today was special. 

Today was the day he was paying Akira and Akechi back for their gifts on Valentine's Day.

He'd worked his ass off doing chores around the Mishima household and odd-jobs around the neighborhood to save up enough money and goddammit he was taking them both out on a proper date. It sadly wouldn't be as fancy as he felt they deserved, but he hoped that it would be enough.

When the trio met up at the station Ryuji pulled out a small box to hand over to Akechi.

He was gifted a bracelet, something easily concealed beneath his jacket or even his gloves if need be. The charms were small little things; a pretty red rose dangled above a mischievous black cat that almost seemed to be swatting at a small little Shiba charm beside it. The final two charms were a bright yellow sun, and a beautiful silver moon.

“Ryuyu...this is beautiful, I...where did you get these charms?” Akechi asked quietly, one thumb rubbing across the rose first before sliding down to pet the cat. Ryuji's shoe scuffed against the concrete while he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I bought 'em. I remember you used to really like roses when we were little. You won me that plush dog out of the crane machine 'nd...well, Aki-chan acts like a cat all the time, don't he?” When Akechi turned the bracelet to rub the matching sun and moon charms Ryuji looked away and huffed softly in embarrassment. “...I got those 'cause you said I'm like a...a ray of sunshine. Or somethin' like that. 'nd Akira's such a night owl that I thought it fit. Was I wrong?”

“No, Ryuyu, no. No, it's perfect.” He slid the sleeve of his jacket up and opened the clasp of the bracelet to wrap it around his wrist. It fit perfectly, and just as Ryuji had hoped, pulling the sleeve back down hid the bracelet perfectly. He leaned over to briefly brush his lips against the blond's and pressed their foreheads together. “I love it. I love you.”

“I love you too, Go-chan.” Their noses bumped gently before they pulled apart, and before Ryuji presented Akira with his own present.

They were a pair of hair barrettes, adorned with sparkly golden stars that tried to curve back around like small halos. There was a gentle hue to them that suggested they might glow in the dark if they were charged up. The clips were a deep black that blended in with his hair perfectly and made it seem like the stars were a part of him.

“Oh Ryuyu. They're gorgeous, I love them.” He pulled the both of them out and tucked the box into his pocket before sliding the barrettes in. They easily pinned his bangs out of his face and let the sun bounce off his pretty black eyes. He reached up to gently smooth his fingers along the resin stars and felt himself break into a huge smile.

“They're perfect. I love them, I love you, they're perfect.” He threaded his fingers into Ryuji's hair and pulled him in for a sweet, passionate, loving kiss as thanks. When they separated, his hands slid down to take both of the blond's in his to squeeze lovingly. “Thank you so much Ryuyu.”

“You're welcome, babe.” The embarrassment he felt was enough to make him shove his face into Akira's chest to hide it. A hand began running up and down his back slowly and made him whine softly. “This is the first time I've ever given White Day presents 'nd I was worried they wouldn't be good enough. I mean...one of you made me chocolates, and the other spent a fortune on them because you didn't wanna fuck 'em up. But hearing you two say those things made me feel a lot better. 'nd now I'm blushin' too. You're both gonna be the death of me, I swear.”

“Oh, no. It's not our aim to kill you, that would make us both very sad,” Akechi hummed as he crowded in closer to kiss the tip of an ear. “We just want you to know how special you are to us, and how much we love the presents and you. They're very thoughtful. I'll wear the bracelet every day, no matter what. And I promise you Akira will treasure those barrettes for as long as he's able to wear them. We love you so, so much.” The hand on his back tugged him in closer to Akira's chest and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

“You said you wanted to take us out for a date, right? Do you have a place in mind? Or were you going to suggest we choose?” Akira whispred. Ryuji's nose bumped against Akira's before he stepped back with a lazy and warm smile.

“Kinda hoped maybe you two would pick somethin' honestly. Didn't really think that far ahead,” the blond admitted nervously. “I almost think that makes me a bad boyfriend but I know one of you are just gonna tell me it's fine. So 'm not gonna say it or think it. Instead we're gonna go out on our date, and we're gonna enjoy it, and then we're gonna go back to Go-chan's apartment and cuddle up on his huge-ass bed to play games with the new game system I bought last week.”

“Why my apartment exactly?” Akechi asked as he tugged Ryuji gently to convince him to begin moving. One arm looped around his waist gingerly; another draped over his shoulder. The still-crisp air of mid-March bit their skin and turned them all a soft pink that slowly progressed into a deep, warm red. Around them the city hustled and bustled with vigor and strength and warmth. For just a little bit the trio could forget about everything else but themselves, each other, and just how warm they felt in each other's company.

For just a little bit, the world could stop, and the impending departure in just six short days could feel like a million years away.

 

March 19th had never once been such a busy day for Leblanc, and yet now there was barely enough room to sit. Streamers decorated the walls of the tiny cafe and added pops of color against the normally deep brown of the wood. Clusters of balloons hung around in each corner of the room and spread across the counter from one end to the other. Different plates of food covered the top of the counter, with a brightly colored cake sitting front and center.

Dotted around the room were Akira and each of his friends, some sprawled out in the booths and others propped up on tables and bar stools. Morgana seemed content to drift around from group to group in search of table scraps and scratches or, occasionally, a comfortable spot to nap for a little bit. The atmosphere felt warm and lively and like a close-knit family celebrating instead of preparing to send three of their own off, even if two of them were due back in two or three months. There were bunches of wrapping paper from various presents strewn about that would be cleaned up by the end of the night, obviously.

Sojiro stood behind the counter and watched everything unfold before him with a warm grin on his face. It felt nice to see Akira so happy after so long, to watch him go from a miserable scared little thing that barely looked Sojiro in the eye to a much more vibrant and excitable young man that reminded him of himself in his younger days. When Ann chucked a marshmallow at Akira's head he very easily caught it and immediately popped it into his mouth with an overly-proud smirk.

“Hey no fair! You weren't supposed to catch it! I was supposed to hit you!” She pouted, glossy lips shimmering in the low light of the cafe, and hucked another marshmallow at him. Akechi plucked this one out of the air as he passed by and passed it off to Ryuji on his way outside. “Ugh! You're bullying me! Stop it~!”

“Oh but it's just so fun,” Akira teased as he leaned forward to boop her nose playfully. “Besides, I don't think Ryuji would appreciate you pelting his boyfriend with marshmallows you know. He might get jealous, because there's only two people allowed to pelt me with sweetness and you're not either of them.”

“Akira please don't ever say anything like that again, you might give Yusuke here ideas,” Yuuki laughed and tapped two fingers against his boyfriend's shoulder. Yusuke slowly raised his head from the sketch book in his lap and let out a huff.

“I happen to think that was a very romantic thing to say, Yuuki. Aren't the most romantic things spur of the moment admissions? Or am I mistaken?” he asked in earnest. From the opposite booth Haru reached over and gently patted him on the shoulder.

“You aren't wrong, Yusuke. But the things some people find romantic other people find...what's the word I'm looking for...”

“Cheesy!”

“Corny!”

“Perfect!”

“Akira your opinion in this doesn't count! You're the one makin' crappy puns 'nd one liners 'nd shit!” Ryuji piped up. Akira's response was simply to stick his tongue out and lean just a bit further back in his seat. Morgana picked that moment to make his presence known again by climbing up into Akira's lap and curling up to take another one of his impromptu naps. Akira happily let a hand rest on his side and began to slowly run his fingers through the thick black fur.

“I personally don't think my one-liners are crappy, thank you very much. They make you smile don't they? They make you feel like I really about you, right? Then they're good ones. The only crappy one is one that doesn't make whoever it's directed at feel like the other person cares,” Akira insisted as he took a sip of coffee. The bell over the door jingled as Akechi stepped back in, a tired and strained smile on his face.

“My apologies, I...Shido's lawyers are trying to figure out what to do with his properties and reserve funds. As it turns out there are private yet legally binding documents that can be used to argue the case in my favor,” he explained. He slid up into the seat to Akira's left and leaned against his boyfriend's back. “I'm already so tired of this bullshit. Pardon my French, Boss.” Sojiro waved a hand at him and cracked a smile of reassurance.

“I can't imagine being stuck in your position right now. Must suck, having that bastard as your dad. Kinda reminds me of my own,” Ryuji said with a frown. “Can't imagine what it's gotta be like having someone so bad that a fu...friggin' serial killer would go after 'em. Not just one either.” There was a brief moment where Akechi and Akira both struggled to keep knife-sharp smiles off their lips. The tips of their fingers brushed together on the side right up against the counter. “Guess it's a good thing we're leavin' tomorrow huh? A bit of a vacation will probably do us all some good.”

“Agreed. The lawyers will be keeping in touch with me during the proceedings. They're just as shady as my father was and willing to do whatever dirty tactics they need to make sure they see a profit from his murder,” Akechi sighed. He took the cup that Akira had been drinking from on accident and took a sip of it. The face he made from the bitter taste made Ryuji bite down a giggle. “Disgusting. Needs more sugar.”

“You're going to drink yourself into a sugar coma with how sweet you take your coffee,” Makoto sighed. “I've heard stories from Sis about your sugar consumption.” Akechi scoffed and set the cup in his hands down to pick his correct cup up.

“Nah, he'll be fine. I know someone to eats way more than Goro does. I'm surprised his teeth haven't rotted out of his head at this point,” Akira chuckled. He picked up a brownie from a serving tray near him and brought it to his mouth to take a bite out of before passing it around him to Akechi to finish off. “Mmm...that reminds me, I need to see him and Souji before I leave in the morning. Minato said he's going back to my hometown a few days after we get there so he can wrap up some business here.”

“Another familiar face in that backwater town where you live? Perhaps that will make our stay a little more tolerable.” Akira whined and threw a hand up over his eyes while leaning most of his weight onto Akechi's back and folding him nearly in half..

“Oh come on, being able to spend an entire summer with me isn't exciting enough? You have to have someone else there to make it tolerable? I thought you loved me you bastard,” he laughed playfully. He reached up after a bit to wrap a few loose brown strands up around one of his fingers. “Am I not good enough for you then?”

“Akira please cut the dramatics, you aren't a child as much as you act like one,” Akechi warned while pushing back against Akira's weight. Eventually they seemed to find some sort of middle ground as they ended up straightened up and still back-to-back. “You are more than enough, Akira. You and Ryuyu both. I was only joking with you.”

“Wow, the great Detective Prince cracking a joke? Must be a sign the world is ending.” Yuuki immediately took a sip of his drink to hide his smile as best he could when Akechi turned a vicious glare on him.

“I will have you know that I do possess a sense of humor, thank you very much.”

“Of course, and I have the ability to use magic,” Yusuke deadpanned, which caused Yuuki to choke on his drink and pet it down to try and force his lungs to work again and get rid of the burning in his throat. Shiho quickly hurried over to begin patting his back while laughing softly to herself.

“Be nice to Go-chan, guys. I don't appreciate this harassment!” Ryuji laughed. He slid out from his seat and Made his way over to Akechi to peck his cheek in apology for the cruel remarks of his friends. “I know you've got a sense of humor babe. You make me laugh all the time!” Akechi took one of Ryuji's hands in his own and began pressing kisses all across the back of his hand and one at each knuckle.

“Thank you, my fair knight, for coming to my defense,” he said. Akira shook his head and took Akechi's other hand in his own.

“Don't let him lie to you, his sense of humor's as dry as a desert.” The stool Akechi occupied creaked as he slid out of his seat and began walking towards the door with no Ryuji or Akira in tow.

“I'm leaving. I'm not putting up with this verbal harassment. My own boyfriend says I don't have a sense of humor! I can't take it anymore.” He barely made it three steps before Akira was tugging him back into his lap as far as he could manage. Kisses to his scalp made shivers shoot down his spine.

“I'm sorry, dear. You have a wonderful sense of humor and nobody should listen to me otherwise,” he mumbled into thin brown strands lovingly. He gently turned Akechi's face to give him a warm, proper kiss before giving a quick and playful lick to the tip of his nose and pushing him away.

“You're an awful person, Akira. You know that? You're awful,” Akechi said as he peeled away from Akira. “I love you though.”

“I love you too babe.” He gently tapped the toe of his shoe into the back of Akechi's calf and picked up a truffle to eat next.

“You three shouldn't stay awake too late tonight. You have to get up early to catch the train back home don't you?” Makoto asked. The tone in her voice made it seem more like a very, very firm warning rather than a gentle suggestion however. “I'd hate for the three of you to miss your train. I'll be by in the morning to make absolutely sure the three of you are awake when you're supposed to be.”

“H-hey, Makoto, that's not really necessary you know. Don't let us be a bother to you, really,” Ryuji muttered. Haru perked up beside her and waved her hand in gentle dismissal.

“Oh, it won't be a bother at all! Mako-chan and I were planning on coming here for a morning date anyway before going out shopping. It won't be an issue, I assure you,” she promised with a gentle and warm smile on her lips.

At the far end of the cafe, Yuuki fought down a sharp yawn by biting at his bottom lip and bringing a hand up over his mouth to hide it. This plan failed miserably, however, as Yusuke immediately began packing his sketchbook and other miscellaneous art supplies up. A brief protest followed that immediately died on the edge of another jaw-cracking yawn. That seemed to be enough for Yuuki to concede defeat and slide out of his seat as well.

“It's getting late. I think it might be best if we all start heading home so those three can sleep,” Shiho said quietly. “Today was really great. You have to promise me you'll be back up as soon as you can. We'll miss you, Akira!” She found herself pulled in to a one-armed hug and laughed into his chest softly.

“I'll miss all of you guys too. I promise I'll come back up the next chance I get. And I'll definitely move back after I've gotten out from under my parent's thumbs. I promise,” he said while swaying with his arm over Shiho's shoulder. One by one the others piled in to begin exchanging hugs with the three of them, making sure that they all had access to everyone's numbers and plenty of promises to keep in touch.

Akira was the first to begin attempting to clean up but found himself bodily shoved upstairs into the attic by Sojiro instead. The sounds of Akechi and Ryuji arguing with Makoto followed him up along with Morgana twisting between his feet.

“Wha-hey, Boss, c'mon, I need to help clean up,” he argued.

“Nope. You're going to bed early tonight, kid. Let the rest of us take care of getting the place cleaned up,” Sojiro said. There were a few chirps from his feet that let him know Morgana was just as anxious to get to bed as Akira was. “The other two will be coming up pretty soon too. I'd keep you around if I could kid, but your parents would raise hell if you weren't on that train going back home in the morning. Just know that this place will always be open for you if you need a place to stay here.” The smile that spread across Akira's face warmed Sojiro's heart almost as much as the hug he received.

“Thanks, Boss. I'll keep that in mind,” he whispered. He pulled away just as Akechi and Ryuji were shoved up to the top of the stairs by a very pushy and stern-faced Makoto. The palette had already been laid out for them hours ago by a very thoughtful party. A chorus of “Good nights” followed everyone downstairs and added to the general hubbub of cleaning the building up before everyone began filing out of the cafe; the final jingle Leblanc's bell set the shop in a comforting yet melancholy silence.

The trio upstairs were just as quiet while getting ready for bed, scared that the slightest bit of conversation would result in at least one of them getting upset and staying awake longer. When all of them were settled underneath the covers and huddled up together they share barely-there kisses and whisper quiet “I love you's” before letting themselves doze off in anticipation of their trip in the morning.


End file.
